Hiphop through Life
by Nomanisan Island
Summary: The clash of two opposites, Ayame and Bankotsu. She taught him to waltz through school. He taught her to hiphop through life. Chap 15 deleted. Next chapter will be up by next week...sorry for the wait.
1. The encounter

"Will Ayame, room 3-14 please report to the principal's office immediately."

The P.A system rang throughout the quiet classroom of 3-14 in which students were writing their tests. The silence was broken, however, by the announcement from the office that had sent for Ayame.Not being a prompt nor disciplined class, therewas a sudden outburst of murmurs and ruckus throughout.

There were the dumbfounded, "They sent for Ayame?"

Then there came the jokes... "Ooh, the top student's in trouble now!"

Of course, then there were people who decided to take advantage of the situation. "What's the answer for number five? Quick!"

"Quiet!" The teacher screamed and banged her fist on the desk as the students snapped back into fake silence. "Ayame, you heard the announcement. Finish your test after lunch."

"Yes, miss." Ayame said obediently and put all her stationary away and handed her test to the teacher before straightening her kilt to go down. She wondered what she had done. Maybe it was one of her cousins or her mother who was there to come pick her up for an early appointment, or maybe it was just to go pick up some papers for her teacher. Pushing back her glasses that fell onto the bridge of her nose, Ayame sighed and ran down the tiled stairs to the office.

* * *

"Keep your hands off of the report cards, Bankotsu." The secretary snapped for what seemed like the millionth time, trying hard not to lose patience at the infamous braided boy who seemed oblivious that she was even talking to him.

"Whoa, who the hell is this shithead?" He muttered under his breath as he filed through the marks of 60s and 50s."This kid couldn't even get a job at a drive-thru."

"Don't swear in the office!" The secretary burst out, a purple vein protruding from her tight forehead. She wiped all the report cards from the desk into a cardboard box that Bankotsu had taken them out from. "Young man, you really are going to get it one day and you won't be smiling then!"

"Just one question I'd like to ask you, miss." A seductive grin swept over his face, mischief twinkling in his lavender eyes. "I'd just like to know…"

She looked up behind her square framed spectacles, giving the least of her attention. "What?"

"Is your forehead naturally that tight, or are you a botox bride?"

The secretary was about to curse loudly at him, and she would have if Ayame hadn't come striding into the room. As she regained her poise with great patience, Ayame stood on the other side of the room, her curious green eyes observing the office for her kin. The secretary stood up and pointed a trembling finger towards the principal's office, signaling both of them to get in there before Bankotsu did anything else that would break her.

"Why, hello, Ayame." the boy winked suggestively. She gave a slightly snobbish snort which erased the grin off his face.

Ayame stared at the braided boy before she realized who he was; he was Bankotsu, the boy who was well known as the school's juvenile delinquent. He was always out of uniform; and right then and there wasn't any different from anytime else. His shirt was untucked, His collar not buttoned up, and his name tag was nowhere to be seen. And what was with the silver chain with the dog tag? Ugh.

"Ladies first." Bankotsu said as he strided over to the door to the principal's office in two bounds and held the door open for Ayame like a polite gentleman. As Ayame hesitantly walked through the door, Bankotsu gave the secretary a wink and a smile as he closed the door and heard an annoyed growl.

* * *

"Please, take a seat." Principal Kaede said as she shuffled through some papers and held out a yellow sheet to Ayame and a purple sheet to Bankotsu. Her graying hair was tied tightly into a bun and she was dressed up so businesslike that anyone could have mistaken her for a shrewd businesswoman. "Ayame, I wish to comment you on your lack of community service hours…"

"Excuse me?" Ayame replied with a tint of aggressiveness to her voice.

"Your graduation requires community service hours." Kaede sighed. "All two hundred of them over the three years of high school. And you barely have twenty, Miss Ayame. You'd better live it up soon or else when graduation comes, you'll be forced to watch your peers graduate while you stay back."

"Sucker." Bankotsu snickered to himself, but quickly plastered on an intended fake smile as Kaede turned her words on him.

"And you, Bankotsu, I don't know how you managed to get through the first and second year. But your grades are dropping fast as raindrops, and that is a concern."

Bankotsu said nothing and suddenly turned interested in curling the tip of his braid with his finger. Kaede coughed and continued.

"However, it has come to my attention that you have already registered your two hundred service hours in the first year, and that is to be praised. Now, don't get a smug face, Bankotsu. I will pair you up with one of our academically smart students to help you to pull up your marks by the time you graduate."

"…and who…might that be…?" Bankotsu questioned slowly as his head snapped up and turned abruptly a finger towards Ayame's direction."

"Her!" Bankotsu bellowed as he pointed a finger to Ayame.

"Him!" Ayame screamed just as loudly as she pointed a finger to Bankotsu.

"Yes, exactly what I was thinking." Kaede said calmly at the dumbfounded teens. "Of course, Ayame, you will help Bankotsu until the rest of the year until I see some progress in his marks; don't make that face at me, girl, I will give you service hours for it as well. Bankotsu, you will be able to pull up your marks, so there's a fair deal for you."

"Don't I get anything?" Bankotsu complained harshly.

Kaede locked her fingers and said, "Your reward will be a good report card and a promising future. I think that should be good enough for you. Now away you two go."

* * *

Taking off her glasses and wiping the glaze of sweat that trickled of her forehead, Ayame walked dazed out of the office with Bankotsu striding a few steps behind her. As both walked up to the third floor back to their seperate classes, Ayame let out a sigh. Unfortunately, Bankotsu had heard and decided to comment against it.

"So bitch, you don't want to teach me, do you?" he growled menacingly. Ayame turned and shot back,

"I don't want to teach you, you don't want me teaching you. We're square, I should say."

"Well, well, I can't wait for you to fill my worthless brain with all your scholarly knowledge, Oh great one." came his sarcastic reply. "Seriously, I have better things to do than having to hang around at this hellhole of a place all friggin day."

"Then why don't you just drop out already?" Ayame said snappishly, not giving much of a thought to it. Bad choice of words, she thought, for the next thing she knew she was slammed against a wall and Bankotsu's fist was next to her head. With a leer he snickered.

"How the hell would you know, you and your rich and privleged life?" He sniffed her hair deeply that made her shiver. 'Wearing Channel, toting your Gucci backpack. You don't know the meaning 'life's a bitch,' do you? Having everything handed to you on a platter, it must be a hell of a thrill., no?" he said quite matter-of-factly, spitting his words like venom through firmly clenched teeth. Ayame regretted ever responding to him and prayed that a teacher would come and spot them. No one came. After a long, eerie silence Bankotsu broke it with a cough.

"What time is it?" he asked.

"It's thirty minutes to the bell." she answered, watching him shuffling in his bag. Taking out a stash of papers, he tied them together with an elastic, took out a cigarette and put it behind his ear. He handed the messy bunch to Ayame and said,

"Take that to Room 3-7. That's for my teacher."

And he went down the stairs without looking back. A while passed before all she heard were the buzzing of flies. She turned her heel and walked to Bankotsu's class thinking,

'Fine, if I can't change any of this, I might as well teach that idiot! Hmph!' Ayame grunted and looked at the stash of papers, and couldn't help but snort as she looked at a huge stain of what looked like coffee. Her eyes then lit up as she started reading his report.

'Hey…' she thought. 'this guy…he sure knows how to write…'

She thought for a moment and cocked her eyebrow. '...and exactly HOW does he know I'm wearing Channel?'

* * *

**Hello. This is Yunilon, formerly known as Yuni-chan...well, let's just say, a lot of things have come up and I really haven't found the time or the drive to write anymore. I was close to giving up ever writing or posting my work to others to enjoy and criticise, but I'm just going to mention that some people have helped me get on my feet much to my thankfulness. Guys, you know who you are...thanks. I really do appreciate it.**

**So now I'm back with a fresh new drive to write stories. The first thing I wanted to do is rewrite one of the first Ayame x Bankotsu pairing stories on the fanfiction world that I wrote, as I thought 'yeah, maybe they could be a cute couple...' a couple of years back. So here is the fresh, renewed chapter of my story, 'Hip-hop through Life,' formerly known as 'Breaking the Ice,' even more formerly known as 'Tutoring the Juvenile.'**

**I'm proud to say that 'Tutoring the Juvenile' was the first Ayame x Bankotsu on and I'm a bit sorry that I erased it due to a group of flamers hating on me so much for writing it. To those who reviewed BtI and formerly TtJ, your reviews inspired me lots to write HtL. Props to you. Thanks so much.**

**Yunilon is BACK! (muahahaha!)**


	2. Bad news and a tantrum

Bankotsu (18) rushed down the stairs, leaving the dazed redheaded nerd gaping after him. Every step of the way downstairs made the empty hallways ring with his stomping and panting. His lungs felt as if they would burst.

He needed a fix. A cigarette. Now. Right now.

He was barely out the door as he lit up his first joint and brought it up to his mouth. As he walked behind the garbage can, he stopped abruptly at the sight of another person already puffing away on his turf. A surge of annoyance came into mind and Bankotsu intended to know who it was. Even before he could creep up on the son of a bitch the person turned around, dark hair whipping against the wind, charcoal eyes flashing.

"Bankotsu!" Jakotsu said out of excitement and received a slap across the head instead. Taking Jakotsu's cigar out of his hand and crushing it on the ground, Bankotsu gave a glare.

"You know better not to smoke." He muttered. "Not with what you have, anyways."

"Sorry, aniki. I just wanted to try it out once, that was all. I didn't really like the taste anyway; it was like deep coffee…so bitter."

"Take your puffer, you never know. Come on." He said as Jakotsu fumbled around his beige backpack for his aid. Taking in three hearty inhales, Jakotsu smiled.

"This is much better than that joint. You should quit, you know second hand smoke is just as bad, right?"

Bankotsu smirked. "I can't help it. Seriously. Picked up those pamphlets, went on the diet that Suikotsu offered me, went on a smoke joint strike with Ren, nothing worked. At least Ren's keeping it up quite well." He took in another sinful puff. "It's been attached to me for about five years. What can I do?"

With a slap of the hand Jakotsu flung Bankotsu's cancer stick away into the sandpit. He looked up blankly and said, "You know, you could quit."

"Well…"

"For me?" the younger pleaded.

After a short thought, the older laughed. "Fine," he responded firmly, digging his heel into the splint that was still burning. "For you. Let's go home, it's your turn to make dinner."

* * *

Alright, maybe Jakotsu was a bit of a child, maybe a bit more so than the people his age (15). But boy, could that kid whip up a nice dinner and desert. Bankotsu inhaled the sweet smell of what smelled like tempura noodles and smiled as his stomach growled.

"Go call the rest of them, will you?" Jakotsu yelled across the kitchen to Bankotsu.

He lazily set aside the book he was reading and instead of going to get them, yelled for Suikotsu(16) and Renkotsu(17) to come eat dinner. Of course, it wasn't really necessary for them to be yelling to each other, for the little 2-room apartment block-home at the top of the building wasn't that big of a space, but the fact that it was still homey and cozy didn't change.

"Hey." Renkotsu said, entering the kitchen in only a pair of cargos. Jakotsu stared for a moment and pointed to the laundry outside the block.

"Fresh T-shirts. Grab any." He said as he expertly carried four steaming bowls of noodles and set them on the table. Suikotsu came in the room shortly after and set himself down and sighed deeply, his mind on the state of paranoia.

"What's the matter?" Bankotsu inquired.

"Let's just say that myorchid diagram's gone missing and I'm supposed to hand it in tomorrow." He said. "I have no idea where it went."

Jakotsu pointed to the bulletin board hanging from the kitchen wall. "Well, you DID pin it there yesterday, and there it is."

"Oh, okay."

They ate in silence, only the sounds of slurping noodles and the radio turned on to a popular channel. Bankotsu felt obligated to say something.

"So, guys, what is up?" and he looked at Renkotsu, but all three started talking at once.

"My new physics teacher is a bitch." Renkotsu said.

"I'm trying out for the school play tomorrow." Jakotsu said.

"Pass the salt." Suikotsu said.

Bankotsu nodded at everyone in approval and swallowed deeply. He felt that he should say something about that nerd girl having to tutor him or he would burst from the built up anger. "Guys?" he said, and suddenly all the attention was fixated upon him.

"Well…"

"Yes?" said Renkotsu.

"Well…damnit, I'll make this short. I'm gonna be tutored by a girl at our school tomorrow, so on Mondays and Fridays I'm going to be home late. Alright?"

Again, all three started talking at the same time and this time Bankotsu lifted a hand to shut them all up. He pointed at Renkotsu, as in the silence he had his hand up.

"Why?" he asked. "I mean, not 'why,' but why her? You know, we could help you like you helped us in english."

"You know what, that is a good idea. Try telling that to our uptight principal, you know how she is."

"Is it only for this week?" Suikotsu asked in between slurps of noodle.

"For the whole year." Bankotsu groaned. "That means that I still have about 51 weeks left to go. Fuck, I hate this." He complained.

At this point, Jakotsu raised a slender, feminine finger and looked blankly. "Yes?" Bankotsu sounded impatient.

Akward silence followed.

"It's nothing important, never mind." Jakotsu said quietly.

But something WAS eating away at Jakotsu. He still didn't get why. It was only a girl teaching Bankotsu, spending time with him, sitting in the same room with him, flirting, talking, laughing and making those goddamn hand touching 'accidents.'

_'_'Stupid bitch, she could just go to hell.' He thought as he was interrupted by Suikotsu.

"I said pass the salt."

* * *

"Get out!" yelled Ayame(17). "Out, Kouga! Get out! You two, too! I can't stand it!" she threw a huge tantrum as she tried to punch her oldest cousin with no success. Kouga(18) grabbed her by the arms and waited until she calmed down, tears streaming down her face.

"Kouga, I really want to be alone."

"Your problem is mine, Ayame. I want you to remember that." He said in a calm voice and cleared his throat. Letting loose his grip, he looked her in the eye as Hakaku(16) and Ginta(16) leaned against the girl's bed. "Now, if you have a problem, please tell. I'll try and help."

Saying nothing, Ayame pulled out the sheet that had been given to her and handed it to Kouga. As he skimmed over it, taking in all the information, he stared at her. "Wait, is this what you're upset over? Having to teach somebody?"

"Yes."

Kouga sighed. "Ayame, what's wrong with you? You love teaching."

"Yeah, sure, but not when my pupil's Bankotsu."

"Wait, who?"

"Bankotsu." She snorted. "The guy with the braid, you know? The guy in your class? With the dog tag and that smirk?" Ayame nodded slowly as Kouga's eyes lit up with a sense of remembrance.

"That kid used to be in my class in grade five." He said. "Then he did something really, really dumb. He had to move away because no other school in the district would take him in after they expelled the kid. He's a really bad egg."

"I see." Ayame kept questioning. "So what else did he do?"

Hakaku piped up, "The skirt lifting?"

Ginta added his two cents as well. "Paper bag burning?"

"Cockroach stabbing?"

"Feeding the fish to the pet snake?"

"Oh yeah, and also…"

Kouga had enough and told them to be quiet. Then he turned back to his younger cousin. "Listen, if the old lady says you must, you must. But I don't want you getting you involved with him at all. He's bad news, Ayame. Trust me."

"I don't want anything to do with him, you can tell me that." She said firmly.

* * *

**Just to let you know, the numbers in the brackets are their age, I thought that it may have been quite...let's say, resourceful. **

**I guess I've been off to a pretty good start, almost a hundred people read the first chapter! But it would have been nice to have a couple of reviews...I don't believe in the whole 'chapter ransom' thing that some authors do to get more reviews, so I'll just be content with what will come. What will come WILL come, right? winks Right. Enjoy!**

_Just for some info, Bankotsu, Renkotsu, Suikotsu and Jakotsu are all rooming together in a 2-room block-home. The two oldest share one room while the other two share the other. More information about them will come later. _

_And as for Ayame, if you didn't catch on, lives in an extended family where practically EVERYONE lives together. Her parents, her grandfather, her three cousins Kouga, Hakaku and Ginta, THEIR parents and their grandfather as well. WOW. Talk about an extended family!_


	3. Mr Henry Drummond

It was something that he felt he was born to do, to act upon the stage. Feeling the cold, hard but welcoming platform under his feet, Jakotsu minded the younger ones who were watching him in awe as he performed a miming trick, switching over to a graceful dancer, a mental patient, a posh city slicker then to a nobleman of the early renaissance. Eyeing his drama teacher who had been eyeing him for an audition ever since he was in middle school, Jakotsu flashed a smile. As he finished off his performance by mimicking a spoiled princess, a great deal of applause came from theother olderstudents, many of them twinkling in their eyes with anticipation of their new younger classmate.

"Well, that was my most humble performance," Jakotsu said his mock speech in a foreign accent, creating more laughter once again. "And I hope that I have inspired some of you to follow in the footsteps of not any other actor you see in the movies, let alone mine, and instead create your own footsteps so that others can see what you have accomplished."

* * *

"Excellent work, Jakotsu. I really do appreciate you giving this presentation to the others. You're just as good as I heard from your former teachers, perhaps even better." The teacher placed his hands on the desk in his office. "And as for the audition for the play, I don't really think that will be necessary." 

"Oh, but I do, sir." He said in his most humble tone. "After all, I, getting the part without even auditioning would be most unthinkable! Don't you think so?"

"Very well then. Let's have it." He shuffled through a portfolio and pulled out several sheets of paper. "It says here that you are trying out for…let's see here…"

"Henry Drummond, sir." Jakotsu pointed out. "I'm trying out for Henry Drummond."

"That's right. Let's see the action."

Jakotsu cleared his throat and threw on an old, ragged overcoat and a pair of glasses borrowed from Suikotsu. He opened his arms wide and started to pace the room, and soon enough Henry Drummond came to life and he was speaking to the judge, the persecutor, the attorney, the defendant, the jury and all the spectators.

"Can't you understand?" he spat. "That if you take a law like evolution and you make it a crime to teach it in the public schools, tomorrow you can make it a crime to teach it in the private schools? And tomorrow you may make it a crime to read about it."

He made a very dramatic pause as he glared at the invisible audience, charisma twinkling in his eyes. He pounded his fist into his open palm and yelled, "And soon you may ban books and newspapers. And then you may turn Catholic against Protestant, and Protestant against Protestant, and try to foist your own religion upon the mind of man. If you can do one, you can do the other. Because fanaticism and ignorance is forever busy, and needs feeding."

By this point he turned to the wall, talking to the invisible judge most mighty. "And soon, your Honor, with banners flying and with drums beating we'll be marching backward, BACKWARD, through the glorious ages of that Sixteenth Century when bigots burned the man who dared bring enlightenment and intelligence to the human mind!" and he slammed both his hands onto the most nearby desk.

To his surprise, a trickle of sweat dropped from his forehead and Jakotsu wiped it away with the back of his hand. He smiled and turned to his teacher.

"How was it?"

"You weren't you." He said, quite pleased. "You were Henry Drummond himself. Welcome to the cast, Drummond. You did one hell of a job."

* * *

Bankotsu found himself heading to the vending machines once again. It had been quite a day without even a single joint, and his stomach was already bitching for food to make up for it. He craved chocolate milk. The money in his pocket, he went to the nearest hallway, gave his money to the machine and got his milk. He was too busy drinking it that he didn't see the figure coming up behind him. 

"OH MY GOD!" A hyped-up Jakotsu squealed. "I GOT THE PART!"

"Are you serious?" Bankotsu exclaimed. "I don't believe it! That's so awesome, congratulations, Mr. Henry Drummond!"

"Thank you! I'm so happy; I can't wait until we start practicing!"

"Well I'd come to watch you, but unfortunately I have to be taught by the little snobby rich bitch…"

Bankotsu didn't even get a chance to finish his sentence as he was backhanded in the back of the head by an unknown. He gnarled and whipped around angrily. "Did you just hit me, you piece of shit!"

Kouga stared calmly. "I don't want anyone saying shit about my cousin, retard…especially from someone like you."

"Oh ho, you were the princess' cousin, were you?" Bankotsugrowled. "Well I never knew. I should have, though, seeing that you both got the same retard genes. I hope no one in your family got into the whole idea of fucking each other, that'd probably take the whole…"

Bankotsu was fisted hard in the face by a very angry Kouga. "I'll beat the shit out of you, and then I'll spit on you! Then I'll beat the shit out of you some more!" He yelled in between punches that hit some and missed some. However, he flew back and banged into the lockers and a garbage can as Jakotsu landed a perfect kick across his chest, a wild scowl on his face. By this time, a considerable crowd had gathered and no one in their right mind had summoned a teacher.

"Don't touch aniki, bastard."

"You shouldn't be here, prodigy." Kouga teased with a smirk on his lips. "You should be in middle school, where you belong."

"I have a right to be here as much as you do." he defiantly said. Kouga smirked and countered, "Well, you shouldn't have skipped a grade to be in my prescence. I'll make your very first year a living hell for you, you puny sick bastard!"

"Fuck you!" Bankotsu yelled and attempted a fake punch. As Kouga blocked it, he flung his stronger left hand and drove it into his opponent's jaw but received a blow to the abdomen at the same time.

"Hurt much?"

"You wish, filthy trash." Bankotsu replied. "You won't land a finger on any of my brothers, or say anything to them. Do you hear?"

"Yes, I did." Kouga said, pushing him away, making Bankotsu stumble from the new sensation of pain. "And as a return of a favour of give-and-take, you won't dare lay a finger on my cousins. Especially Ayame."

"Fine." Bankotsu said. "I don't touch your cousins, you don't touch my brothers. We're square." Looking at the crushed milk carton on the floor, he glared at Kouga. "And plus, I never got to finish my drink." He said slowly.

Kouga fumbled in his pockets for some spare change. He pulled out a couple of coins, more than enough for the drink. Bankotsu stuck his hand out and instead, Kouga threw them on the floor as they landed with chinking coin sounds,and the spectators knew better than to touch anything. They held their breath as they looked for Bankotsu's reaction. After a long deadly silence, Bankotsu spoke up.

"On another hand…" the braided rogue said silently but loud enough so everyone could hear, "…you can keep the change. I expect you'd need it to pay for your cheap hookers, rich boy."

He left silently with Jakotsu to each of their next classes, leaving a fuming Kouga surrounded by silent students who had just witnessed Kouga's defeat.

* * *

**I had a strange, strange little dillemma...you see, the thing was, in the first chapter principal Kaede claims that their third year will be the year that they graduate, indicating that highschool is three years according to the system in most Asian countries. But then I realized in the second chapter I made Bankotsu 18, Renkotsu 17, Suikotsu 16 and Jakotsu 15 in thinking that they were in the grades nine to twelve, like the system in North America. So I got confused...but luckily, I came up with a solution...**

**They stay the way of the Asian school system of three years of highschool, and Jakotsu merely gets bumped up a grade, technically indicating that he skipped a grade. It also makes sense, since I also mentioned that in the story about them having uniforms. **

**I hoped that cleared everything up. You guys rock my socks! Thanks so much for reading and reviewing, luv ya! 3**

**(Here's just a character outline plan...these are characters that I plan to have in the story, you can suggest some too, if you'd like)**

**1st years- Jakotsu,Suikotsu, Rin, Kohaku, Hakaku, Ginta**

**2nd years- Renkotsu, Kanna**

**3rd years-Ayame, Bakotsu, Kouga, Inuyasha, Kagome, Sango, Miroku, Naraku, Kagura**

**Others- Sesshomaru**

_Jakotsu, Suikotsu, Renkotsu and Bankotsu live together in an apartment block-home. They are NOT related. More about them to come_

_Ayame, Kouga, Hakaku and Ginta live together in the rich side of town with their entire extended family_

_Sesshomaru and Inuyasha live together...Sesshomaru is an established doctor and lives with Inuyasha in his apartment room...for NOW_

_Naraku, Kagura and Kanna live together in the apartment room next door to Sesshomaru and Inuyasha's_


	4. Sham kissing

Inuyasha looked in the mirror, humming a random tune to himself as he checked himself out in the mirror quite self-consciously. The outfit was perfect, his breath was minty fresh, and his hair was still a bit damp from the late shower he had just taken. But remembering that Kagome had always loved his hair, wet or dry, he decided to skip the blow dryer and looked for his shoes. Just as he was getting ready to head out the door, he felt someone staring at him from the back.

"Where are you going?" Sesshomaru inquired icily. He had a file folder tucked under one arm, a coffee mug in the other hand. "Get your ass back to bed."

Inuyasha sighed and didn't bother to look back at his brother. "Look, I told you this afternoon that I was going out with my girlfriend, alright?"

"No you didn't."

"Oh yeah, I did. It was you who wasn't listening because you were working on your work."

"I have a job to hold, alright? And I have a patient that needs much medical attention. After all, I DO make the money, pay the bills and still have the leftover cash to buy your niceties. If father hadn't forced me to let you move in while he went off to Berlin, I'd kick your poor little ass out to the street."

"I'm going out anyways." Inuyasha started for the doorknob as Sesshomaru kept it shut with his hand.

"No you aren't, dear brother." He said, looking down at his younger counterpart. "You're supposed to be in bed. It's almost twelve, and I don't want you going out like this."

"Look…" the silver-haired younger sighed in disdain once again. "I haven't seen my girlfriend for, like, weeks. Alright? She called last night and told me she was back from Hong Kong, so she wants to meet me. Plus," he said with a contemptuous grin, "we haven't shagged in awhile. Or does it make you angry that you haven't gotten any in a long ti…"

**"GET THE FUCK OUT!"** Sesshomaru was not one to lose his cool, but hearing the damned brat talking to him like that made him boil over. He practically threw Inuyasha out into the hallway and locked the door with a huff. He then groaned in disbelief and took a long sip out of his now cold coffee mug. He had let go of his file folder and all the papers had fallen out.

'Oh, I'll whip that twerp just right. Just wait until father comes back from Berlin!' he fumed at the thought as he picked up all the papers. He set them on the mahogany dinner table and started to head for his room when he remembered he had forgotten to pick up the evening newspaper. He rolled his eyes, unlocked the door and opened it.

He found himself facing Kagura, his next door neighbour. She was in her bathrobe, her silky ebony hair piled up into a wet towel, her flawless face graced with a small bruise on her left cheek. She jumped slightly at the sight of him.

"Oh, um…hi, Sesshomaru." She stuttered. "How are you?"

"I'm pretty fine, just getting the paper for today." He said coolly. But instinct glued his eyes to her heaving bosom, slightly visible through the crinkle in her bathrobe. She noticed this and blushed furiously, tying her bathrobe tighter.

"So…what are you doing?" he asked as he set aside the advertisements into the recycling bin.

"Oh, I'm just reading…the news." She said. "I have a habit of reading everything in the hallway, you see. It's kind of funny, but Naraku always gets angry…"

"Naraku?" Sesshomaru asked. "Who might he be?"

"Oh, he's my…boyfriend." She slightly blushed. "I live with him and his cousin."

Sesshomaru perked his ear to hear more, but that seemed like that was all she was going to tell him. He patiently waited for her to finish the paper when a male voice called for her, making her flinch.

"Coming!" she called back. "Well then, I guess I'll see you around."

"I guess so." He said and watched her go.

* * *

Tossing and turning in his sleep, Jakotsu moaned as a layer of sweat formed on his forehead. He was trapped in a nightmare that he couldn't escape, one that stuck by him since he was a young boy. Blurred images of his family came and went, and their faint cried of anger and sadness and taunting spun in his head, wrenching his heart out. 

With a gasp and a choke, Jakotsu woke up, drenched from head to toe in sweat. He decided to take a cold shower and stumbled on his way out of the door, being careful not to wake Suikotsu. It was two in the morning, so he was expecting everyone to be asleep. He was wrong.

"Oh, an…aniki, what are you doing up so late?" Bankotsu was sitting on the kitchen chair, indulging himself to a worn out novel. He looked up with tired eyes, and Jakotsu sighed. "You should get to sleep."

"I can't." he said. "I miss that sweet cancer." He snickered to himself.

Jakotsu smiled quite femininely. "It's good that you're quitting. I'm happy for you."

"Thanks." Bankotsu said and yawned. "Maybe you're right, maybe I should get some sleep. After all, tomorrow's a Sunday and I think I'm supposed to make breakfast tomorrow."

"You are."

"Alright." Bankotsu wiped a tiny tear from his eyes, shut the novel and went to his room shared with Renkotsu. "Shut the lights off after you're done, alright?" he said.

* * *

Jakotsu let the cold water run through his hair like a god's blessing. It was so refreshing, so delicious. He could feel the cold penetrating his skin deep down to the bones and sighed with pleasure. He opened his mouth, let a couple of drops trickle in and spit it out. So many things were going through his head as he remembered his dream. It was a terrible one that had haunted him for years now. He shaked his head from side to side as he let the shower head spurt warm water into his face. 

He wiped away the moisture with his fingers and paused, warm water still running, warming his cold, naked body.

He blushed furiously at the thought of locking his lips with Bankotsu's sweet feathery ones and he felt so pleasured, warmedand sinful at the same time. He lifted his index and middle finger together and let them rub against his lips, letting it pleasure him with a sham kiss. Halfway through, he snapped his eyes open and mentally slapped himself with disgust.

'Holy shit, what the fuck am I doing?' he thought to himself, blushing out of self-embarrassment. He hurried the rest of his shower and quickly dried himself. He studied himself long an hard in the mirror, and a feminine, graceful face with a sloping smooth ivory neck with a protruding adam's apple looked back at him. Jakotsu placed his hands on his chest and felt hard muscles that weren't as well defined as Bankotsu's or Renkotsu's.

It was muscle, alright, but they weren't manly ones either. He wrinkled his nose and jumped into his boxers, shorts and T-shirt. He looked in the mirror andtook a final lookat his dark brown hair that fell over his shoulders so femininely. Hating it, he slapped the mirror and proceeded to dry his hair.

'I won't let that happen to me again.' He vowed. 'That part of me that destroyed my life…I won't let that happen to me ever again…"

Ayoung cicada could be heard at a distance, singing its heavy song.

* * *

**Well well well...another chapter up! I was debating on whether to even include the whole Inuyasha crew into the story, but then I thought of a great idea (in my opinion, so far) that would actually help out the plot. If not, I guess it could just be one of those sideline storylines that everyone likes but no one pays attention to, really. Please R&R people, it makes me smile after a really crappy day. Plus, it doesn't take that long to do. I promise! Toodles!**


	5. Rule number one

Ayame woke up to quite a pleasant morning. Normally she would have graced the morning with a satisfied yawn and her routine 'hop-out-of-bed-happily,' but today was just a bit different. She was confronted by the loud shouting outside her room that she guessed, was probably coming from her two old grandparents fighting over whose toothbrush was whose.

Then there was the loud yelling of her mother and her auntie cooking breakfast in the kitchen quite loudly, singing and gossiping, yelling for more spices and salt. Hakaku, Ginta and Kouga usually fought over whose uniforms belonged to whose, because no matter how many times they would ask their mother to assort it she would never seem to understand what they were saying.

'Same old…' Ayame thought, laughing to herself. To other people this may have seemed quite a zoo of a house, but to her it was literally all part of the day. She got dressed quickly after a speedy shower and makeover and preceded for breakfast where her whole family was seated. It was like a scene out of a movie with everyone yelling while they were seated right next to each other.

'Pass the salt,' Her grandfather said while adding more pepper to his dish.

'I'm using it right now, excuse me.' Said Kouga's grandfather. Then her mother started to yell for the spices again and accidentally hit Ginta over the head with the plate full of fried eggs. The ruckus started all over again, and Ayame sighed with a little smile.

"Mother, I'm going to be home late." She said as she chewed on her rice. Her mother barely looked up as she passed out fried eggs to each of the family members before replying with an "Alright, make sure you take the house key with you."

"Yes, mom." Ayame said before digging into her breakfast.

* * *

It was a long walk all the way uphill for the four boys, and with all the early spring wind breezes it didn't make the labour any easier. Jakotsu kept huffing and puffing as he took deep breaths of his puffer every few minutes or so as Renkotsu and Bankotsu talked about things that seemed to be very secretive. As he looked on, Jakotsu felt a strong urge to confess to someone of his amorous feelings but restrained himself heavily. As they neared the school gates, an older student eyed Bankotsu and pointed his pencil in their direction. 

"You, the group there, come over here!"

They figured it wasn't them, so they kept walking until the student on duty rephrased himself.

"The group with the bald kid!"

And Renkotsu twitched slightly as he heard this. Slowly they shuffled their march to the senior student. He wore his small ponytail at the back of his head that was tied back in a very neat but casual fashion and wore several earrings.

"Now that I've got your attention I must say what I have to say…" the boy said, tapping his pencil against his temple. The quartet eyed the senior's name tag and read 'Miroku.'

"So you're Miroku." Bankotsu commented, realizing that he was in the same class.

"Yes I am, and you're out of uniform." Miroku said, hitting the shorter boy's head with the tip of his pencil. "One, where's your name tag?"

"……"

"Your proper dress shoes?"

"……"

"Uniform golf shirt?"

"……"

"And that dreadful, dreadful braid of yours has got to go. It's very unsanitary for boys, you know. At least trim it once in a while." And at this Bankotsu's anger started to slowly build up.

"That is none of your damn business." He said simply and ignored his classmate who was now taking notes on his little black notepad. "I'll be going now."

"You have a choice by tomorrow," Miroku shouted at his back. "Cut it or shave it off like your bald companion there, he is much, much more sanitary than you are at this point." Bankotsu pretended not to hear and muttered, "Biatch."

* * *

The day had never felt so long and hard for Bankotsu. With Kouga's occasional growls of anger it made it a bit more entertaining, but having to have Miroku turning around in his seat to wink at him quite provocatively was driving him insane. When the bell rang for the end of the day, he could not wait to get out and take out that sweet little cancer stick of his and… 

'…damn, that's right…I quit.'

He thought and slumped onto the desk behind him backwards, all hope to brighten his day a little more gone. He would have tore out his hair if Jakotsu hadn't come along with a half-litre of chocolate milk. After saying his farewells, he headed quite melancholically to the library where the redhead nerd awaited his presence.

"You're late." Ayame gave a tut-tut.

'Wow, this bitch is all business and uptight,' he thought. On the desk in front of him was a schedule planner with little writings all written out for him. Using her feet, Ayame pushed out the chair opposite to her and signaled for him to sit down. He did so with much casualness.

"This is how it's going to work." The redhead said, whipping out a red pen. "On every first and third Mondays we're working on english, and on Fridays, math. Every other Monday we're working on your history, and every other Fridays…something else."

"What might that special something else be?" he swept back his hair and eyed her with curiosity, waiting for an answer. Instead he received no answer at all and found an english text in front of him with a black pen tucked into the crack.

"Now today, we're gonna start with our prepositions." She said. "It's the first chapter of what you must cover, but I don't know how you can have trouble with prepositions…still, let's go."

"Yes, teacher."

"It's Ayame."

"Ayame." He repeated mockingly. "Gotcha."

"**RULE NUMBER ONE!"** Ayame stood up and glared at him in the eye as she always did with her brawling cousins. "As long as I teach you, you are my student, I am your teacher. And how do you treat your teachers?"

"You give them a nice spanking." He said and purred with his teeth clenched in a very hedonistic manner. "And when the student's being bad, the teacher does the same."

Ayame was lost for words and could only sigh at how hopeless this was going to be. She saw this going nowhere, but still decided to give it a shot and decided to approach him the way she did with younger children.

"Prepositions," she cleared her throat and went on. "are much like descriptive words as to where an object lies. For example…" she drew a diagram of a box and a person standing on top of it. "Over here, we say that the man is ON the box, and the box is UNDER the man. You got that?"

"So…prepositions are much more like…positions, right?"

"That's it!" Ayame exclaimed.

"I like it missionary."

"……"

* * *

This was getting to be quite fun for Bankotsu. He knew he shouldn't be doing this, but he just couldn't resist! The little nerd girl was on the brink of insanity and he loved it! 'Maybe she'd go crazy by the end of the session and retire on her own,' he thought.

* * *

She gaped at the hentai boy in front of her and restrained with all her might, the urge to grab him by the braid and dangle him two stories from the window. This was getting tiring, but she couldn't just let go and give in! 'Never,' she thought.

* * *

"So tell me Bankotsu," she said, "Exactly what are you having troubles with prepositions for?" 

"Well…I guess I don't know how to use the proper prepositions for certain situations that the objects are in."

"See, look here…there's a lot of prepositions that you can put to use. Such as under, over, besides, on, off, in, out, across, through, and so many others. You use them in everyday life; you can't possibly miss any of them."

"Yeah, give it to me in a sentence." Bankotsu drawled lazily, his span of attention barely existing anymore.

"Um, let's see…I got one…The boy sat across from the girl, next to the window."

"Alright, I got one too." Bankotsu said, standing up. "The boy stood up, across from the girl next to the window, picked up his bag and walked through the door of the class and left."

"**My lesson isn't done yet!"** Ayame squealed. Bankotsu put a slender finger on her lips and she slapped it away angrily. "The principal told us to do this and I don't intend to cross over that line unlike you, alright?"

He responded with a single shrug. "She never said we **HAD** to be in the library, didn't she?"

"No, but…"

"Then I'm out of here." He said and walked out of the door, sipping his milk. "And you're coming with me."

"What kind of a teacher follows a student?" the redhead whined. "That's just not right!"

This brought a smirk to his lips. "Not everything you think is right is right."

He led the way for a very confused Ayame. So far she had only tutored him for approximately fifteen minutes and both had hated it. He felt the atmosphere needed a change. Ayame questioned quietly where they were going.

"Why, princess, I'm escorting you to my pad." He said. "It's in the south side of our school. You know by the cemetery close with the line of strip malls with the convenience stores and the diner?"

Ayame felt a chill through her spine and shuddered for a split second as she remembered Kouga's words.

_'I don't want you getting involved with him at all.'_

He lived in south side? That was like being told that the dark bottomless cave you'd just walked in was infested with lice and flies! Not that Bankotsu was a lice or a fly, it was just that…

"No." Ayame put her foot down. "I'm not going to your house."

"Don't be an uptight bitch, there's no person to mug you, no drug dealers, hookers, gangsters or strippers. Although it's a shame there are none…so don't be a retard."

Ayame squirmed uncomfortably and held back as he continued to lead the way. He stopped in his tracks, rolled his eyes and looked tiredly at her. He'd expected a put up of some sort, but nothing like this. She was getting too annoying, uptight, and downright bitchy.

"Are you afraid?" he asked too quietly and she shook her head in denial. "Then why don't you want to go to my house?"

"Because…because my…my cousin, you see, he doesn't really want me to…"

"Oh…" the braided boy gave a crooked grin and laughed. "It's your pussy of a cousin who told you not to get involved with me? Listen, I made a pact with him, you can be sure that I won't lay a finger on you."

"A pact?"

"Yeah, a pact. Now let's go, come on."

Ayame wanted to yell at him for being so ignorant. She had never ever been to the south side of town where rumours about shootings and muggings, rapes and beatings took place. No matter how much Bankotsu assured her, it wouldn't help at all. She desperately wanted to tell him outright that she didn't want to go to his house, which she didn't want to be in that part of…the grimy place he called home. It felt like she was crossing a line. Apparently Bankotsu had read this expression and sighed.

"Hey, if you're so uncomfortable at being in my house, we'll just go to yours."

"NO!" she said, Kouga coming and snapping into her mind.

Bankotsu rolled his eyes in exasperation once again and sat on his back ankles. 'One tough bitch.' He thought. 'This is gonna be worse than I thought.'

* * *

After a while of thinking and pondering, the sun had almost set and they had made up their mind, or rather, Bankotsu had threatened Ayame into going to their house for the rest of the tutoring session and she finally agreed. As soon as she got to the door, her cousin came bounding down the stairs and opened the door. 

"Ayame, you're just in time for the…Bankotsu?" Ginta said, scratching his bleached hair. "What are you doing here? I thought tutoring was over."

"Apparently not." Bankotsu said, looking around his surroundings.

'Damn, what a fine house,' he thought, looking at the polished hardwood floor with marble carved statues and mahogany framed pictures of the family hanging from every wall. Imported furniture and real exotic skins of animals graced the living room walls, and on the coffee tables and the television, tiny clipped bonsai trees took their place proudly. The whole house was set perfectly to the method of feng shui as far as he was concerned, and he had never dreamed that the rich girl and her family lived so…posh.

"Come on up," Ayame said sternly as she greeted the rest of her family with a smile. She didn't see Kouga glaring up at the stairs as he saw the damned shorty entering the room with his cousin.

"What's he doing here?" he asked calmly.

"Tutoring, I guess." Hakaku said, plugging in the game system to the 50 inch television as their grandfather watched.

"That boy is a very fine young lad, isn't he?" their grandfather said whileclipping a bonsai tree."Although seeing the way he greeted you boys he could use a few manners…"

"Yes, grandfather." Kouga grit his teeth. "He could use more than a few…"

* * *

**Yes, I know, I know, Ayame's being a very inconsiderate, bratty, snobby, judge-y little b!tch. But just follow my story, you'll see her changes as she hangs out with our favourite little braided boy.** (wink wink) 

**And...guys, I know it's really hard to click on the button to leave a review, but seriously, not saying this out of selfishness but I would like a few pointers, tips, support, criticism, your thoughts, anything. How can I judge my work when I get next to no feedback? **

**Speaking of feedback, this is to wolfofthewind. This chapter is for you; that one line gave me enough drive to write this one. Chapter 5 is my longest chapter yet. Thanx buddy.** **Thanx guys, for reading. Luv ya. **


	6. Out of the closet

Sesshomaru silently sipped his coffee as his headache grew bigger and bigger. His head felt as though it would explode and shatter into a million pieces, but he guessed he could live with that. He'd been able to live with putting people through chemotherapy and surgery, and he wouldn't allow a mere aching of the head to get to him. He reluctantly looked back at the clock and saw that it was almost two in the morning.

Deciding to get some sleep, he threw himself back on the bed and let his muscles loose when suddenly a familiar annoying beep came ringing from his pants. He whipped out his beeper, looked at it annoyingly and shoved it back in his pocket.

They were messaging him from the hospital, and one of the patients he was looking after was in a dire situation. He had to get there on time.

"Sesshomaru," Inuyasha blinked sleepily and opened the door to his brother's room. "Do you mind if Kagome sleeps over? It's raining heavily and she doesn't want to call her…"

"Do whatever you want." Sesshomaru grunted, surprising Inuyasha and pulled on his collar shirt, tugging at the tiny buttons. "I'll be back in a couple of hours. If I'm not, breakfast is in the microwave." he headed out the door with his briefcase in one hand as the sensor-friendly lights flickered on. He pressed the button and waited for the elevator.

'Damnit.' He thought. 'That's about 24 more floors to go, hurry up…'

As his mind raced about his patient, the tall amber eyed surgeon studied himself in the mirror intensively and tied up his silvery hair so that it fell over his shoulders in a sleek ponytail. Just then he thought if he had heard something sobbing, but he decided his ears were going bad. But as the sobbing kept coming and was followed by the sounds of someone being harshly smacked around,

Sesshomaru turned his piercing glazed eyes to the door of his next door neighbour. He could almost catch all of the words that were being spoken.

'I told you so many times not to step out of line!' a deep male voice rumbled, following the female's pathetic attempts to push him away. 'Remember Kagura, I own you. I brought you in when your parents left you for dead, and you have no one in the world but me. How dare you go screwing around with other assholes!'

'I, I'm sorry Nara, I didn't mean to, but…he was just so…'

'Don't give me bullshit, little girl.' The voice of the boyfriend came along followed by skin hitting skin repeatedly. The sound of beatings paused for awhile and Sesshomaru was listening more attentively than ever. He stared at the arrow which now pointed to floor 20. '4 more floors to go,' he thought to himself.

'Kagura, Kagura…did you honestly think that guy loved you?' a cold voice pierced out so silently that the doctor had trouble hearing. 'He only wanted to use you, to get in your pants. Now you don't believe I would do anything like that of the sort…do you?'

Sesshomaru hesitated for a moment as to whether he wanted to keep listening or not as the elevator made its 'ding' noise and opened for him. He took one last look at the door before walking on halfheartedly.

* * *

Sweat poured down his forehead like a busted dam as his eyebrows were furrowing and twitching. His ultimate nightmare had come back to haunt him once again, and Jakotsu deperately wished to be free. The familiar images of people that were once his best friends and family It took Suikotsu and Renkotsu to wake him up forever until Jakotsu had been freed from his feared nightmare. 

"What's wrong?" Suikotsu asked. "Do you want something to drink?"

"No thanks."

Jakotsu said simply and walked out of the house and stepped onto the balcony of the penthouse roof, looking down at the city scenery far away that sparkled with the lights of the night, and it comforted him somewhat. He heard shuffling behind him and the sound of a door closing. Turning around, he saw that it was Renkotsu.

"What's up?" he said as he scratched his naked scalp.

"Where's Suikotsu?"

"He's inside. He stood up late last night so I told him to go to sleep." He stood beside Jakotsu and gazed out at the night city lights, sighing. "Something's been bugging you for awhile. I can tell." He said quietly, calmly looking at his younger counterpart in worry.

"Do you wanna spill it?"

"No." Jakotsu lied.

But the truth was, he couldn't take it anymore. Jakotsu felt like he would surely bust into a thousand pieces if he didn't say something. It was a strange, odd feeling yet satisfying and fulfilling at the same time. It was evident that he was different from other children even when he was younger. Hugging other boys allowed him a sense of comfort and pleasure, something that even his parents could not give. Of course, when he was a child no one really paid special attention. But it was when he started growing up that caused problems.

"It's alright if you don't want to tell." Renkotsu in interrupted his thoughts in an understanding tone and started towards the doorknob when Jakotsu turned and grabbed his shoulder, surprising him.

"No." Jakotsu said. "I'll tell you." He turned to look out at the scenery again. Renkotsu soon joined him again and after a long sigh he started his story.

"There's this guy that comes to my mind, you see…that's where it started."

* * *

_"Get away from me, you freak!"_ Kairi yelled at Jakotsu, pushing him towards the windowsill. Even as he hit it with a thump, he couldn't take the tiny smile off of his face as he gazed into the eyes of his first real crush. 

Kairi Miyamoto was a unique one. He literally had cherry blossoms flying around him constantly in his presence, and his hair always smelled of fresh citrus shampoo that intoxicated the senses. Two deep dark pools of powdery charcoal were accompanied by a nose so shapely over two blossoming petals that were his lips.

Kairi was a bishonen both inside and out, as he was kind and showed compassion to everybody. When Jakotsu first started to go to the high school it was he who showed him around. He invited him to come sit with him and his friends during lunches and breaks, and Jakotsu felt grateful and welcomed. He saw no problem in telling Kairi how he felt.

"Kairi," he started out confidently at the start of lunch break. "I have something I want to tell you…"

"What is it?" he said casually yet in his most friendly voice, looking up from his math homework he was working on and studied Jakotsu with attentive eyes. Feeling he had nothing to lose, he had let it all out flowing like a river.

"Look, I've always felt nervous about telling you this…but I just want to say this right now before I regret that I never did."

"Hmm?"

"I like you, Kairi." He said as his lips went dry. "A lot."

Kairi blinked, obviously confused. "Well, I do too, we're friends…right?"

"Right, but that's not what I meant to say." Jakotsu looked his crush in the eye and bluntly spilled his heart out. "Listen Kairi, ever since I met you I've never been able to get you out of my head. I really care about you a lot, and I want you to know that. I…" he scratched his head and gave a little shy glance, his face heating up. "I…I like you. A lot."

Kairi stared with the most blank expression passing his face. He set aside his things and stood up, facing Jakotsu back in his eyes. Opening his mouth, the boy attempted to word something but could only choke on what he was to say. It was then that it dawned on Kairi.

"Jakotsu." He questioned. "Are you gay?"

* * *

"And I told him, yeah, I'm gay." Jakotsu frowned a bit and laughed a bitter laugh. "It turns out the guy was a homophobe, and he cut off everything that he had to do with me from then on. Actually, I think that's when stuff got shitty in my life. All my friends literally spit on me and were afraid to talk to me. The teachers treated me like I was an animal from a zoo, and on top of that my family rejected me fully." 

Renkotsu cocked his eyebrow at Jakotsu's whirlwind of a confession and asked him his own questions. "So…I'm guessing that's when your family…you know, disowned you?"

"They didn't want a homosexual in the family." He said. "They disowned me two months after that. I was like, thirteen. That's sad, isn't it? Your own family hating you. Renkotsu…?"

"Hmm?"

"I'm…not ashamed to say that I'm gay." He licked his lips and continued. "I like thinking of it like this…I'm not queer, or disgusting, or a freak…I'm just different. I'm special. I like thinking of it that way and it helps me. But…don't tell anyone else, please."

Renkotsu turned to look at him and smoothed a strand of hair back behind his younger's ear. He looked at Jakotsu in the eye and sighed.

"If you don't want me to, I won't tell a soul. He whispered strongly. "Don't you ever be ashamed of yourself, Jakotsu. Ever."

* * *

**Weird, you think, that Suikotsu's not the one comforting our wee Jakky? I just wanted to give Renkotsu and Jakotsu that lovin' brotherly bond that was totally ravished in the Inuyasha series, with Ren killing Jakky and all...I prefer to think that a part of him gave Jakky a mercy killing instead of just wanting the shards. Sort of like the time when Jakky killed Sui by taking out his shikon shard...he cared about him but he was to die anyway, and he just didn't want Kikyo to have it, and he would rather have his brother's shard with him. **

**Well, so far so good I guess...please read and review, lotsa luv guys :)**


	7. Momo's consolation

Her once lively eyes shut themselves into closed eyes and her dazzling smile stepped down to a lifeless but happy smile. Serenity was fully washed over the little girl's body, and her soul, god have mercy, had now gone to a better place than the one she had suffered in. One by one, sweat trickling down their matted foreheads, the doctors removed their masks with blank expressions upon their faces laced with grief. Sesshomaru silently pulled a white sheet over the girl after staring into her lifeless face one more time. And he had just started to get to know her, too.

His heart was breaking as it had been chipped and chiseled away at for however long he had been treating patients. He felt great pride and joy when he gazed into the faces of his patients when he told them that they would recover in less than a week or a month, and on the contrary felt a hole being repeatedly blown into his gut as he lost the victims to Mother Nature and how she meant for it to be. As the doctors stepped out of the room in despair, Sesshomaru tried to keep his icy surgeon's expression on with great difficulty as he went into the next room where the girl's family awaited to hear the news.

The mother, father and an old woman that Sesshomaru assumed was the girl's grandmother all fixed their attention upon him as he walked through the cold doors with a clang. The grandmother was the first to cling to his arm.

"Please, doctor, tell me what has happened to my granddaughter? Tell me she is well!"

Gritting his teeth as he remembered the lively girl passing across his mind, he lifted his eyes instead to the silent parents with a tinge of hope in their eyes and shook his head.

"I'm sorry." He said. "The girl could not survive."

The father broke down into a mess of tears as the mother slumped back down onto the couch that they were sitting on with a stoned expression on her face. The grandmother was beyond a stage of sadness that it seemed to converse into anger as she beat his chest repeatedly with her small fists, tired and old and weak.

"My granddaughter!" she gave a wail like that of a banshee's and continued to sob. "My only granddaughter! Oh my dear, dear doctor, tell me it is not so! Please! Little Shari was our hope and joy! You cannot do this, you cannot!" Sesshomaru was struck dazed just as much as the mother, his eyes revealing nothing.

* * *

When he got back to his apartment it was almost four in the morning, and Sesshomaru felt as if he would go crazy from the reminiscence of the girl, the lost patients. Their laughs and cries and the secrets they confided to him as their doctor buzzed through his head like a desert fly. 

He walked into the kitchen, hastily removed a bottle of gin tonic with a frown upon his face from the cupboard and poured himself a shotglass, swallowing the bitter concoction in sorrow. He felt the floor underneath his feet shifting after several more glasses and started to get up to head to his room. He ended up sleeping soundly on the couch, a lonely teardrop rolling down the side of his cheek.

Inuyasha, who had woken up to take a quick washroom break in between his slumber, walked out of his room where Kagome soundly slept, clad only in washed out jeans. He flicked the lights on and saw his mess of a brother sprawled on the couch with a half-drained bottle of gin on the counter. Inuyasha took out a blanket and tucked it over his surgeon brother, guessing that Sesshomaru had to witness yet another patient slip out of his hands like a raindrop from the skies.

He picked up the phone and dialed the one person who he was sure could comfort him.

"Hello, may I have Momo on the phone, please?"

"Who is this calling?" a high pitched male's voice rang out over the hedonistic yells of about a dozen or so men. "Name please?"

"It's Inuyasha." He said impatiently, glancing at his brother. "Now get Momo on the phone, damnit."

After a long while there was a clatter, a yell and dozens of whistles. Inuyasha could hear the sound of bottles hastily clinking against each other and moments later she was on the phone.

"Hello, Momo speaking."

"Rin." Inuyasha spoke in his throaty voice. "It's Inuyasha. Sesshomaru's not feeling well."

"Oh, that's too bad…" Rin said. "It's that little girl, isn't it? Did he lose her?"

"Yeah…listen, I want you to do me a favour…he's a total trainwreck right now, and I was wondering if you could drop by our house after your night shift is over, you know? For comfort? You know you're the only one who can talk to him like that."

"Sure." She said. "I'll be there at around three."

"I'll leave the key under the doormat, okay?" he said. "Thanks."

* * *

Her stilettos clicked against the hardwood hallway of the apartment. Pulling her hair back, she bent over to take the little key from its hiding place just as Inuyasha had promised her and stepped inside. She looked at Sesshomaru with worried eyes, who had apparently kicked away the blanket that was upon him. 

Rin silently took off her beige trench coat, revealing a long brown vintage tee with boot-cut shorts that had been adorned with her washed-out cowboy boots for when she worked at the bar. A silver crescent charm that Sesshomaru had sent her for her seventeenth birthday hung from her neck by a leather string, accentuating her moon-coloured skin.

Sympathetically she sat on the sofa, pulled up the weary surgeon's head upon her lap and started to stroke his hair, his forehead, his neck. A dried tear crust had formed upon his cheeks and she wiped them away with dainty fingertips. She continued to stroke him in the manner she always did until he made groaning noises that signaled his calmness. His eyes shone under the two chestnut irises that looked at him warmly in the eye, Rin's hand still stroking his flowing silver streaks.

"I'm sorry." Rin whispered. "I heard."

Sesshomaru half-shut his eyes, gazing at the girl fondly. "I still wonder how you got here, it's like a dream…I'm thinking my brother informed you of my…drunkenness?"

"You know you can't handle alcohol, Sesshomaru." Rin teased and pinched his nose. "It's a given that you were drunk today…especially with the girl, and I'm really sorry to hear that. She sounded like a total sweetheart..."

"But you can, of course." he joked. "You'd drown in a plateful of the stuff...there should be a bit more left in the bottle, take it..."

Rin stood up and shuffled over to the counter where the liquor bottle lay innocently. She took the shotglass and the bottle with her, set it down on the coffee table and resumed her position under Sesshomaru's head. She poured herself a generous amount of gin and drained it very quickly as she got ready to pour another glassful.

"You're quite the drinker, Rin." Sesshomaru hiccoughed and smiled as he gestured to the bottle. The pale faced Adonis sighed, whiffing in Rin's face a pleasant smell of mature gin tonic that she found surprisingly comforting after a long hard night of bartending to the customers at the local underground pub she worked at. She fantasized what it would be like to return home every night to this dashing young man and to be comforted and cradled in his arms, hearing him whisper hername 'Rin' instead of 'Momo' as the brawling drunk young men called for her. But she knew that was far from anything. He was only like an older brother to her, nothing more. She felt strange at the thought, for she knew she longed for something more. 'Good gods, I must be drunk already...' she thought to herself as she fanned her hot face with her hand.

"Rin?" Sesshomaru interrupted her thoughts, his eyes gazing towards the piece of delicate jewelry around her neck.

"Yes?" she said.

"I remember this…" he whispered sensually. "I was sorry I couldn't get you anything finer than this crescent."

"It's my most treasured, Sessho." She gave a smile as he leaned himself against the arm of the couch, the nape of his neck leaning against Rin's thighs. He reached out for the charm and grabbed it, leaning her heavenly face close towards his own.

"Let me see it closer." He said lazily as he twisted and pulled the charm down to his chest before engaging in a loving, deep kiss with his one and only. Rin's chest felt as if it would explode; it was her first.

* * *

The bright, warm morning light poured through the wispy curtains that covered up the windows as Sesshomaru blinked. His head felt as though it had cracked like an egg and instantly he regretted drinking too much. He noticed that neither Kagome or Inuyasha were up, as it was almost six. 

He reached down to scratch his chest, but was taken aback as he gripped a handful of hair instead. He jolted from the couch, causing Rin to roll off and fall to the floor with a thump. Sesshomaru looked down at the girl, and to his horror found that she was buck naked as he was. He quickly pulled a puffy cushion to his nether regions and started to say something but could only sputter out the words,

"What...what happened? Why are you here, Rin?"

Rin wrapped a blanket around her and slowly started to pick up her clothes, her face twisted in a way that Sesshomaru took as if she was trying to remember something. He looked around frantically and spotted an empty bottle of gin tonic lying innocently on its side as was a tiny shotglass. He shot quick glances from Rin, who was blushing intensely as she got dressed, to the bottle to himself. He had never felt so confused in his life.

"Rin...what...why...give me my clothes." he said and stuck out his hands. Rin followed what he said and gave it to him as he looked on. Sesshomaru signalled a blushing Rin to turn round and he got dressed very quickly. He then looked in disbelief at the stain on the couch and gaped, as did Rin. His confusion built up to sudden anger and he turned to Rin, clenching his teeth.

"Rin, tell me right now...what happened?" he said. "Why were you and I both naked on our couch, a fucking bottle lying there and this...this..."

"Stain?"

"On my couch! Sesshomaru finished loudly. Rin winced but soon found her voice as something started to dawn on her. Sesshomaru paced in circles as he let his eyes stray this way and that. He couldn't believe it. He had never been so angry at himself for drinking so much to the point where he wouldn't be able to remember a thing.

"Inuyasha called me..." Rin said and Sesshomaru turned to face her. "He called me last night and asked me to comfort you, because you were drunk and upset and...you know? So I did, and you asked me to take a drink, so I did...then..." she gestured to the stain and she stopped talking, for she felt it wasn't necessary to continue. Rin bowed her head and blushed as Sesshomaru turned on her unexpectedly.

"Why did you let this happen?" he yelled. "You weak girl, how could you? Why'd you come in the first place, when I had to be drunk of all the times!"

"It's not my fault you got wasted when I got here, it's not my fault that we did it you know! It's not like I raped you or something, Sesshomaru! There's two people needed to do something, don't go around blaming me!" She angrily walked to the door and put her cowboy boots on. "I'm leaving! I don't believe you!"

"Fine, go! Leave! It's beter for both of us, anyhow!" yelled Sesshomaru angrily as he grabbed for a cloth to clean up the mess they had supposedly made last night. He frowned as Rin closed the door and hastily locked it.Sesshomaru sat himself downat the couch, burying his face in his hands.

* * *

**This entire chapter is decicated to Sesshomaru and Rin's whole lovey-dovey situation...yes guys, you may want to kill me for not writing a lemon for this chapter, but **

**#1, I prefer not writing lemons, for I am horrible at them. **

**#2, I would have asked one of you guys to do it for me instead for credit, but there doesn't seem to be a lot of people that are reviewing, so what's the point of writing one if barely any people give me feedback? **

**Yeah, sorry, I feel terrible today, and I guess I'm being a bit cranky. I'll update when I feel like it, which will probably be in a week or so...Next chapter'll be all about Ayame and Bankotsu...I only wrote this one entirely on Rin and Sessho because they will later serve as a key point. So don be angry. Nyah**


	8. Other side of town

"I'm quite glad to see that your marks are definitely improving, Bankotsu." Mr. Jaken inquired. "It's been hmm…about a few weeks that the girl has taught you, hasn't it? Well, I see the improvement. English is as good as always…"

"Thank you, sir." Bankotsu said in his monotone voice reserved especially for teachers. "Sir, I have an after-school appointment with my tutor friend…and I think I should be going for her now." He gestured to the clock as he gathered up his work. As he headed out the hallway, he flipped out his phone and called Ayame directly.

"Hello?" a deep male's voice rang from the other end of the line, making Bankotsu jump a foot in the air. Realizing that it was probably some other member of the family, he calmly asked for Ayame.

"It's you, you shitface." According to the growl that echoed in his ears, Bankotsu assumed correctly that it was Kouga. He waited impatiently for the upset other to cease blabbing his potty mouth and again asked for Ayame.

"Do you even know what time it is?" Kouga said. "It's like, five O'clock, smartass. You were supposed to be here two hours ago."

"I**did** tell her that I was going to be late!" Bankotsu retorted quite angrily. "Ginta picked up, so I asked him to pass the message! Unless he forgot, of course…did she say where she was going to go to?"

"Well, from the way she sounded it seemed she's going to your place…she put your phone number and address on the fridge, so we know where she's going...so I sent Hakaku to drop her off there, I really don't trust your run-down, disgusting piece of crap neighbourhood that you call…"

Bankotsu shut off his phone and smirked. 'So, the princess wants to come to my place, does she?' he thought. 'Heh, she's finally caved."

* * *

"You really didn't need to come with me, you know…" Ayame rolled her eyes as she trotted on behind her cousin. "I know where the guy lives. I just wonder why he didn't come today, and if he thinks that I'm going to let him get away with that he can keep on dreaming!"

"Damn right." Hakaku chuckled. "Ayame, Kouga was right what he said about you…you're too proud of yourself. Let yourself go a bit."

"I'd love to, you see?" she said. "But who has the time anymore?"

"What Kouga says about you is just plainly out of concern, okay? Don't take it the wrong way, I probably know him better than Ginta does…after all I AM the older twin." Hakaku stopped in his tracks and squinted his eyes as they stopped for the light to change at the intersection.

"Is that Inuyasha? Kagome? And Miroku, too!" Hakaku exclaimed. "Wow, I haven't seen them in like, forever, I wonder where Sango is…" he then turned slowly to Ayame and said, "Um, Ayame, you see, I haven't had the chance to talk to any of them…and you know, Bankotsu's house is right across the street and in the neighbourhood where you have the address for, and you did say that you didn't need me to come with you, so…"

"Fine, go." Ayame sighed and watched as Hakaku waved to her and ran to the trio coming ahead. Perfect timing, she thought, as the flickering red light switched abruptly to a shining green.

Funny thing was, as soon as she set foot in Bankotsu's neighbourhood, she felt a dark cloud coming over the old, high buildings and an uneasy feeling, and oh, how she wished she had let Hakaku lead her to the rest of the way! She trembled slightly but remembering that Bankotsu had once said there were no 'bad' people in his side of town, she was slightly calmed down.

Those feelings instantly vanished as she faced a road with narrow alleys branching out, where scantily clad girls huddled together, whispering and sharing a joint, looking no younger than herself. Tall men with puffy jackets were busy conversing and swearing in another dialect.

"Liar." Ayame muttered. She hated the sun for starting to set so early and realized that she should have changed out of her uniform. People with sick fetishes these days, she had heard all about them on the news, the papers, magazines, the…

"Hey, pretty lady." She jumped a foot high as a heavy hand clamped on her shoulder. "Come with me, won't you? I got pretty nice friends back there waiting to say hi."

Ayame slapped his hand away as the tanned male merely grinned down at her. He seemed to find this amusing, as the next thing he did was quite unpredictable; the male grabbed her by the waist and slung her over his shoulder, causing her backpack to fall on the ground. The male carried her swiftly to the dark alley where his 'friends' were there and Ayame was overcome with terror. Sheshrieked and instinctively brought her foot down on the man's groin hard, and he let out a short groan and stumbled to the wall, breathing hard and raspy.

She took advantage of the chance and started to run, but not before half a dozen hands reached out for her. One exceptionally strong one grabbed her by the waist and held her arms down as he led her to a dark, lightless alley. Her shrieks and yells were muffled by a dirty rag that one of the figures in the shadows had tied into her mouth.

"She must be a high school student..." A deep voice said. "or at least a hooker who works early." She shuddered as hands groped her thighs and behind and Ayame felt a teardrop forming at the corner of her eyes. 'Monsters!' she thought. Her thoughts were cut short by vulgar comments about her body being whispered and snickered and shouted all around her.

"This girl is so fine, I think she deserves as much cock from us as she can get!"

"Her body's quite tight for the typical high school bitch...all those hos these days sell out and shit."

"Yeah, I know…check out her tits!" The redheaded girl cried silently as many hands squeezed her breast, grabbing and hurting in every way possible. One of the hands grabbed her fine white collar and ripped her uniform shirt down the middle and Ayame knew she was going to be raped. There was no way that she could ever face half a dozen men, older than she was, and even manage to escape.

She squeezed shut her eyes as she waited for the same hands to grope her naked chest, but instead she heard a huge smack as the big male who held her back fell forward, crushing her body. She tried to look for who it could have been but had no idea. The alley was just too dark to be able to see anything. Sounds of yelling, punching and bottles breaking filled her ears. She managed to crawl out from under the huge monster of a body but she didn't get so far. The last thing she heard was the seventh bottle breaking, and she fainted as the glass pieces tumbled down her head.

* * *

"She's alright." Sesshomaru said calmly to Bankotsu, who had stood up quite abruptly as he confronted him. "The pieces of glass had to be removed, and there's a minor blood clotting at the back of her head. The scratch marks on her chest have been treated, and there will be no scars left…or visible, at least."

"Can she go home?"

"Yes, I believe she is conscious enough to go home. She's been given painkillers, and she should be exhausted by the time she does." He took small notes on his notepad before turning on him curiously, "Are you…her guardian?"

"I'm her student. I mean, friend." Bankotsu stuttered as Sesshomaru raised an eyebrow.

"Will you be taking her home?" he said. "It's quite late."

Bankotsu looked up at the clock, and he was surprised to see that it was almost eleven. But after all, he had spent quite a bit of time in the emergency room…cutting his thoughts short, Sesshomaru shoved a pen and a piece of paper under his nose.

"Are you over the age of 18?" he asked. Bankotsu nodded and signed where Sesshomaru pointed to quite obediently. Moments later Ayame was brought out, assisted by the doctor's assistant. Bankotsu led her to the exit while Sesshomaru looked on.

"Wait." Sesshomaru said as Bankotsu turned around, Ayame piggybacked on his sturdy back.

"What?"

"Do you know an Inuyasha?" he asked. Bankotsu shrugged.

"Yeah, I do. He's in my class, why?"

"Nothing." Sesshomaru said and walked away. Before he did, however, Bankotsu found it strange that he swore he could have seen a smirk on the doctor's face as he was leaving.

* * *

There was nothing more that Bankotsu could do for her than to lead her up to the gates of her huge home where Ayame weakly told him a word of thanks and went on in. Her bruised and worn out face seemed to lighten up a bit as he passed her her backpack that had been abandoned in the alleyway after those goons had run off. His own knuckles were caked raw with blood, but he was sure Suikotsu could treat that for him instead.

He had just gotten his wearisome self home and had sat down on the couch with a bag of chips and the book he had been reading since last week. He was briefly interrupted by the doorbell that rang and resumed to reading, but this time Jakotsu came up to Bankotsu and told him himself.

"Um, Bankotsu…there's policemen at the door for you."

Bankotsu frowned slightly and said, "What for?"

"I have no idea, but they mean business." Jakotsu whispered nervously and gestured to the door. "I think you should go and find out."

Book in hand, Bankotsu strided over to the door to find that indeed Jakotsu's words were true. He faced two policemen, both dressed in blue with dark vests and pants.

"May I help you gentlemen?" Bankotsu said again in his monotone voice which he not only reserved for teachers but also for any form of authority. "Why are you guys here?"

The shorter, stouter one whipped out his policeman's badge as the taller one followed suit. "We're from the police department down the street, I'm pretty sure you know where that is…Bankotsu. You've been in the slammer before."

"Yes I have." He said, clearly annoyed. "Could you tell me the purpose of your visit?"

"We're here to inquire you, where have you been from the hours of five to seven?"

The braided boy tried to recollect his memory and managed to remember that he had been in his neighbourhood in the alley. By this time Suikotsu and Renkotsu had come out of their rooms to find out what was going on. They stood behind Jakotsu who was listening attentively.

"I was in my neighbourhood, why?"

"Did you happen to be with a Miss Ayame?"

"Yes I have, why?" he snorted. "Is being with a rich girl an excuse to put me in the slammer again?"

The taller one said nothing, twisting Bankotsu around and cuffing his hands together. This action was loudly protested against the three boys who were merely standing behind the scene, now ready to punch someone out. Bankotsu struggled viciously against the cuffs with no avail. "What the fuck! Why are you doing this?" he said. "I haven't done nothin, you have no right to do this to…"

"Mister Bankotsu, we arrest you for charges put against you for beating and raping Miss Ayame this evening."

Renkotsu and Suikotsu let their mouths hang gaped, their fists still in motion to strike. They didn't know what to say but sputter illegible words. Bankotsu's eyes opened wide with shock and disbelief and hewas lost for all words."You're going in the slammer again tonight."

* * *

**OMGOODNESS why would they put BANKOTSU of all people in jail! Why! **

**Isn't it tantalizing that only I know? LOL I'm such a BIG FAT LIAR, I said I would update next week when I feel like it but when I read those reviews I just wrote one up as soon as I checked on my mail! Cheers guys, 'next week' came early! CHA-CHINGG! By the way I write chapters in advance so technically I'm just putting up chapters as I feel like it, nyah ****I hate to leave it hanging off a cliff like this BUT I'd like to write the next two chapters before I'm updating the next one. Till then, lotsa luv guys! R&R!**


	9. Much ado at the station

Her body felt as if it was frozen over. Ayame desperately tried to open her eyes but all she could manage to do was to let out a muffled groan. The back of her head was aching and pulsing so much that she wanted nothing better to do than do just pass out on her comfortable bed so that she would forget the pain. A buzzing conversation was going on in the room, and she could only make out the words 'Bankotsu,' 'alleyway' and 'rape.'

'Rape!' she screamed in her mind and her eyes instinctively snapped open wide, her emerald pupils contracting. She could see her three cousins circling the bed and her auntie and mother crying at her bedside. A doctor in a white suit was just getting his medical case packed up and was almost ready to leave.

"Oh my god, she's awake!" Hakaku yelled out of semi-joy and semi-regret. "Ayame, I'm so, so sorry for leaving you there! I should have went with you! I should have brought you all the way to his house, then it wouldn't have happened! GOD I hate myself, I should go to hell! I…"

"Hakaku, shut the fuck up!" Kouga gnarled.

"Kouga, watch your mouth!" Kouga's mother cried out between sobs, whacking him across the head. "Why didn't you go yourself! Making your younger brother go drop her off, that is so typical of you!"

"Typical!" Kouga yelled back out of frustration. "I was busy cramming for my test!"

"You shouldn't have crammed!"

"Well I'm sorry!"

"BE QUIET!"

The group turned to the doctor as if someone had thrown a bucket of cold water over their heads. The doctor coughed and gestured to Ayame. "The patient needs rest. If any of you feel you can't control your…voice boxes, then I suggest you leave right now."

No one moved.

"Good." The doctor said. "Now the results…"

Ayame passed out again before she could hear.

* * *

His face was set into an unreadable expression, a blank, cold stare coming from his eyes. Once in a while Bankotsu looked around the cell, inspecting its grimy ceilings covered with dust and cobwebs and its cold, shiny metal bars that obstructed his view. He didn't understand what he had done wrong. As he looked at his bloody knuckles that still weren't treated, he recollected what had just happened to him. 

Just then the doors to the police station opened with a cling and three familiar figures stepped in. Renkotsu walked up to the chief to speak to him as Jakotsu and Suikotsu hurried over to his cell.

"Bankotsu!" Suikotsu said. "What's all this about you raping that girl? It's not true!"

"It can't be true! You told me you saved her, what's her problem?" Jakotsu complained as Bankotsu waved a hand lazily.

"Guys, don't make a fuss here, you'll get in shit as well."

"Frankly, I don't give a shit!" Suikotsu grit his teeth as he brought out a bundle of gauze and a tube of liquid medicine. He hissed each word out with frustration and contempt as he worked on his hand injury. "You go out of your way to kick ass and save her from getting a gangbang, you take her all the way to the hospital…"

"Without a car, mind you, all the way back to her house, too." Jakotsu added.

"…and what does she give you as a thank-you present? She accuses you of screwing her! Well you know what, I never really liked that girl in the first place, and she can go to hell!"

No one said anything for awhile. Bankotsu looked towards Renkotsu hesitantly as he was engaged in a fierce conversation between the police chief.

"Look, do they have any proof that Bankotsu raped and beat her?"

"I'm sorry, but until his guardians come and bail him out, he's going to have to stay…"

"He's got no guardian! None of us do! He IS our guardian, retard!"

"Listen, sir, I understand you…"

"No you fucking don't!" Renkotsu exploded, his cheeks turning the shade of pink as he always did when he got angry. "And what do you mean, 'come bail him out?' Do you think his dead parents are gonna just come down to earth to bail him out? You're putting him in hell! He's gonna have a fucking record for something he didn't fucking do, no one's gonna want to hire him anymore, I mean, would you hire a fucking rapist? Well I don't fucking think so!"

The police chief wasn't one to just sit and listen to his complaints. He retorted, "Look, do you have proof he didn't do it? Can you bring the witness here to testify that he didn't?"

"How should I fucking know, I don't even know where the bitch…"

"In my binder." Bankotsu said. "Her address sheet's in my english binder."

Renkotsu was taken aback for a second, but quickly regained his posture. "Well then, you two stay here with him, I'm going back and I'm bringing her back here, okay?" he turned to the chief; "I'll see you in a couple of minutes."

Renkotsu swung open the door to step outside when he saw a black car pull up. The chauffeur opened the door for the people inside and the first person to step outside was Kouga. Without thinking, Renkotsu drove his well trained fist into Kouga's jaw.

"What the fuck!" Renkotsu yelled, grabbing Kouga'sshirt collar."What the fuck is going on here? Why'd your cousin throw Bankotsu in jail? Do you even know what he had to do to save her little ass!"

For a second he expected Kouga to fight back, but by the looks of it his mother and Ayame's mother had come with him. Ayame was nowhere to be seen. Kouga wiped the taste of blood off his sleeves and did nothing.

"I won't say I didn't deserve that." He said. "And Ayame didn't do anything...I was the one who called the cops on Bankotsu."

"You mother-." Renkotsu started to say, but was stopped by Kouga.

"Let me explain." He calmly said. "Let's go inside."

* * *

"When Ayame came home looking like she got hijacked, me and Ginta just went up to her…and we demanded to know what happened, and all she could say was your name, then after that she collapsed." 

"So that's the only reason you ratted me out?" Bankotsu laughed bitterly. "Wow, I knew you hated me but that's a bit…"

"I'm not finished." Kouga's patience was wearing. "I mean, come on, she walks through the doors in tatters, her uniform practically ripped to shreds, covered in bandages and gauze, and she says your name…I thought she was with you all this time and the first thing I thought of was that you raped her, so I called the cops on you. It didn't look like nothin' but rape."

Bankotsu stood quietly for awhile and to everyone's surprise he started to laugh out loud. He did so for a few moments before calming down with his usual icy expression.

"So that's it?" he whispered, pulling Kouga's collar close to the iron bars. "That's why? Because I live in a run-down piece of shit neighbourhood I call home? Because I've been arrested once already for beating up somefags who tried to jump Jakotsu? Or is it because you can't stand that Ayame's warming up to me much to your…how should I put it…disdain? Hatred? So, which one is it, Kouga?"

"Break up the fight, boys." The police chief came over with a bundle of keys and unlocked Bankotsu's cell for him. The doors opened with a clang and as he stepped out, Ayame's mother came forth and Bankotsu let go of his tight grip on Kouga's collar.

"I'm so sorry for this terrible blunder…" she was close to tears as she apologized to Bankotsu. "If I'd have known first I would have called the doctor before calling the cops, but I wasn't home at the time and…and…"

"Don't worry about it, miss." Bankotsu said in his usual manner and gestured to his companions to follow him out. As Bankotsu left, Kouga grabbed his shoulder and Bankotsu turned around with a glazed expression on his face.

"What?"

"Three things, actually." Kouga said, coughing. "The doctor checked on Ayame, and he said he couldn't find any signs of rape…no semen, no nothing. She's perfectly fine."

"She should be, I saved her." Bankotsu snorted as-a-matter-of-factly.

"Second, my mother was going to bail you out but when she told the chief the whole story of it, he cleared charges against you…said that they were falsely pressed upon, so don't worry about your record."

"Nice to hear." He said and turned to leave. Kouga stopped him and looked him in the eye, and said something that Bankotsu never would have thought to hear from him;

"Thirdly, I…I'm sorry." Kouga said. "I'm sorry, and at the same time I thank you."

He muttered a few more words that Bankotsu couldn't hear, but that didn't matter. He had overcome a wall he never would have overcome by running through it, and he had succeeded. As the quartet watched the black car drive away to where it belonged, they parted as well and walked peacefully back to where they belonged.

It was a night full of disasters, but to Bankotsu, it was damn worth it.

* * *

**I thought maybe I should take some time to answer some questions that came up**

**Q; Does Jakotsu like Bankotsu? A; I'll keep that one hush-hush...**

**Q; Why isn't Inuyasha, Kagome, Miroku or Sango in this fic much? A; Well, I think they've gotten enough attention in the series...don't you?**

**Yep, I think that cleared some stuff up. If you guys want to see some plots that you thought of to be in the story I'll gladly appreciate some feedback, haha Enjoy this chapter! I'm leaving for a vacation on the eleventh so I'll try to put up a few more by then. Bye bye!**


	10. A new taste of tequila

"Momo!" a deep burly voice shouted out from behind one of the counters. "Come here, baby, give me another round here for me and my boys, will you?"

Rin set down her glass cup that she was rubbing at with an old rag and walked up the counter, mixing four servings of bloody marys for the man and his companions. They watched her attentively as they whispered and laughed amongst themselves, and Rin was fully aware of it but pretended like she didn't know. Instead, she gave then knowing glances and sexy cut eyes once in awhile as they wolf whistled. Rin set down the shaker and gave them a third round of drinks for her customers.

"Here you are, boys." She said. "Four fresh bloody marys, waiting to be drunk." The men looked at each other lecherously and the one that had called her over took out his wallet to give her a tip. As he handed her a fresh, crisp twenty from his leather wallet, she bent over slightly to show off her well matured breasts as she took it from him. She left the table smugly with her well earned twenty and her extra ten for displaying her assets.

Rin felt slightly better for wearing her white tube top that particular evening that left little to the imagination, as she was raking in more tips that one night than she ever would think of making in three days. It wasn't in her nature to wear such revealing garments, but considering her situation and that this was the only job that she had to sustain herself, she went ahead with her plan.

Only she wasn't aware that a certain surgeon was watching her from the corner of his eye.

* * *

Time flew by very quickly and soon it came time to close down the pub. Rin helped all the drunk customers out to their taxis that were waiting to escort them, getting double tips by doing so. She closed the steel doors to the front entrances and walked down the stairs very tiredly but happily. Today was a very good day to her, and it couldn't have gotten any better. She washed out a couple of rags and grabbed the cleaning spray, turning on the old jukebox. Listening to a familiar beat that had once been famous, Rin smiled and quietly did a dancing step as she proceeded to wash the tables. 

Sesshomaru silently stood behind the shadows of the counter, watching the vivacious girl going around doing her job. He had tried to call her so many times beforehand, but it was a strange coincidence that her cellphone always seemed to lose connection or to be turned off whenever he did. Meanwhile Rin finished her job, laid down the spray and rags and started to stretch. She adjusted her risqué top and turned around, facing Sesshomaru who stood across the counter.

"Sess…Sesshomaru." Rin stuttered, her face showing that she was obviously surprised. But soon she put on a defiant expression and crossed her arms, looking at him sternly. "You're not supposed to be here, the pub is closed."

"I want to talk to you." He said.

"Well you know what, I really don't." she bitterly laughed and reached across for a glass and a shaker. Rin shook the shaker a bit too hard for her own good, littlespecks of alcohol spraying across the counter like spilt blood.She poured it into a delicate tequila cup expertly and looked at Sesshomaru for a bit, and he raised his eyebrow. Rin shook her head and reached out for another cup, pouring another serving for the surgeon who examined her with the most piercing, blazing eyes.

"Here." She said, giving him the second glass.

"Thanks." He took the cup from her and sipped delicately at it. "Tequila?" he inquired.

"It's tequila gin." Rin said. She hesitated to drink and looked exasperated at Sesshomaru and asked him questioningly. "Why are you here?"

"Why did you leave your cellphone off?"

"……"

silence followed the awkward question. Rin drained the alcohol in one throat burning swallow and packed up her things. She took down her trench coat from the high coat hanger, ignoring the older one's gaze. Blushing, she reached for her bag and started to head away from the counter. "I don't have time for this." She muttered. The next few moments were a bit too hard to recollect for Rin, because all she saw was a flash of long silver tresses and she was spun nothing close to gently against the counter. Sesshomaru held her down with his strong left arm while he sipped at his unfinished drink, eyeing the girl lazily.

"Why have you been avoiding me?"

"I think you would know better than to say that, Sessho." Rin growled, straining against his grasp. "Or should I be blamed for everything again?"

Sesshomaru said nothing, face set into an emotionless mould. He took a long sip of his tequila gin and proceeded to kiss the helpless girl who was attempting to defy his strength. Abruptly putting his lips against hers, he allowed some of the drink to flow unwillingly into her mouth, and Rin was terrified that her body was actually responding to his actions. Sesshomaru smiled bitterly, his grin hidden behind her lips.

"Stop…stop it!" the girl yelled, knowing what she was doing was wrong. She was trying to push away from his compressive limb, tears falling from her cheeks to her jaw. "You don't get anything! It was the first time I've ever kissed anyone let alone sleep with anyone, the first time I've been able to share anything with anyone I've ever loved, and you dismissed it like I was…some….some whore who forced herself on you! You disgust me!"

Sesshomaru felt as if his heart was sinking upon hearing Rin's outburst. There he was, almost crushing himself upon a helpless girl demanding to know why she was avoiding him when it was his fault all along. After he let go of his grip, he watched Rin dash up the stairs outside into the rain, her sniffles echoing in his eardrums. Sesshomaru sat in the dark pub alone for a long time before finally standing up to leave.Sessomaru's beeper must have been reading his mind, for he heard the familiar beeping noise vibrating in his shirt pocket.

"Fuck…" he gnarled angrily and threw it across the room. The beeper fell to the ground in pieces as he stormed out.

* * *

It had been a few days since Bankotsu's arrest, and the boys treated it as if it was a biggest thing that had ever happened to them. Jakotsu spoke about it nonstop, Renkotsu was seen smirking from time to time (which he never did) and Suikotsu always spoke of how he detested the redhead albeit her being hospitalized at home. 

"Come now, it wasn't her fault." Bankotsu replied and paused before regretting,"Although I'd have liked to smack that Kouga around for awhile before letting him go…" he took a look at the clock by the television and abruptly stood up to leave. He made a mental note to himself to go visit his tutor a few days after. After all, he did have a few questions about a math package he had gotten from Mister Jaken.

"Where are you going?" Jakotsu spoke with a mouth full of chips. "Your job?"

"Yeah." Bankotsu said, throwing on his T-shirt and grabbed his bag. "I'd better run guys, I'm a bit behind tonight."

Bankotsu ran in the rain, wiping the wet drops away from his eyes. The echoing of his feet thumping against the wet asphalt ground led all the way to the intersection where the strip malls were. Bankotsu pushed open the glass door where at least a dozen people lay sitting or laying down on random couches, coffee cans straying on the floor with their eyes glued, minds indulged in a good book or a manga.

"Your shift's done here." Bankotsu held out his hand and took the store keys from the bleach blonde-haired boy in coke bottle glasses, sitting in a comfy chair who looked up at him with naked interest.

If there were two things that people were always astonished to hear about Bankotsu, it wasn't the fact that his parents were both dead, that he had never dated, or that he had been arrested twice and suspended thrice or even that he lived with three other homeless boys. It was that he loved reading with a passion and the fact that, at night, he worked at a bookstore near the strip mall beside the diner. Others would certainly have been intrigued by his past, but that was what only a handful of people knew. Setting unimportant matters aside, Bankotsu reached for the nearest manga.

* * *

After his birth, Haru's mother had found out she had bone cancer and died fourteen years later. His father was a handsome, successful businessman who owned a chain of electronic departments in malls all around the country. Maybe it was because of his constant traveling to promote his products that caused him to have an affair. One day when Haru was doing his father's laundry, he found a picture of a hot but vain looking woman, no older than twenty, in his father's shirt pocket. 

At once he felt betrayed when he brought the said girl home and announced that they were to be married in two weeks. Betrayed by his father's hasty decision, Haru neglected to speak to his father ever, not to mention the fact that he ignored his father's fiancée. It was no doubt that she was a golddigger.

However, it did strike him odd that the woman was trying to seduce him while his father was away on business trips, and it disgusted him. One night, Haru was sitting at his desk with the table lamp on, doing his math homework when he felt a pair of arms circling around his neck.

"Hey, you shouldn't be doing this." Bankotsu said, pushing the woman away. She pouted playfully and pulled him from his chair, causing Bankotsu to stumble and fall on the bed and she giggled.

"Come on, you know you want me, baby." She whispered into his ear and kissed his neck that caused shivers to jolt up his spine. "I know the way you look at me, and I like it, Haru."

"I don't look at you." Haru said bluntly. "You're a disgusting whore."

"Oh my, such a foul mouth!" she placed her finger on his soft curvy lips. "We'll have to deal with that, shouldn't we?" she stood up and started to remove her black shirt when Haru leaned forward and grabbed her wrist.

"Okay, fine, I will. It's just that…" he quickly thought of an excuse. "I…need protection. I want you to wait in you and dad's room while I get a condom from the pharmacy, alright?"

"So sexually knowledged…uh huh, I'll be waiting, Haru baby." She winked and shuffled over to his father's bedroom, closing the door gently behind her. It didn't even take fifteen minutes for Haru to pack up. He grabbed his dusty sports bag from underneath his bed, threw clothes, a toothbrush, loads of books, his wallet that had his ID and his fully loaded debit card.

"I'll be right back!" Haru yelled towards the door. At the doorway, he grabbed his extra pair of sneakers and stuffed them in the bag as well. Locking the door behind him, the first place he headed to was the bank where he withdrew all his money and erased his account. Coming out of the said building, Haru felt his house keys in his pocket jingle.

He took it out by the silver keychain. Haru knew that if he chose to discard his house keys, it meant he wouldn't ever be going to his house again. His comfortable house, his pedophile father, his sanctuary of a room, his golddigging stepmother, his friends at school, the people who wanted to jump him would all be missed nevertheless. But looking at the situation with a naked eye, Haru made up his waivering mind.

He inspectedthe keys for the longest moment and tossed it into the garbage can. As far as he was concerned, he wouldn't be going back anymore.

* * *

**Oh MAAN so many things arising! Rin's angry at Sesshomaru very muchly, Bankotsu has a weak spot for books, Ayame's still in the hospital, and Jakotsu still hasn't come out on Bankotsu or Suikotsu or anyone else yet! Darn so many plot holes, not to mention the whole Kagura-Naraku abusive relationship that's messed up pretty much. But don worry, I haven't left anything else open for...um, destruction...or left out plot holes. (cringe)**

**The only thing I'll be hiding is the thing about 'Haru.' If you guys are smart, you'd have figured out who 'Haru' is by now. This was just a filler for a certain somebody's past, I just wanted to explain whyhe became the guy he is...I had Jakotsu talk about his past already, so this one's for Bankotsu. I picked the name 'Haru' because...well, 'spring' and 'Bankotsu' just fit likea puzzle together image-wise. Or maybe it's just me... (scratches head)**

**Sorry it took so long but I AM stayin in Chicago for four days, so it took awhile packin and whatnot. I'll be writing out chapter 12 in the 15 hour drive there, so hakuna matata. (I don't own Lion King) But here's chapter 10. R&R, enjoy!**


	11. Kiss me

A soft caressing wind blew through the windows of Ayame's room, flirting with the wind chimes that hung from the ceiling. Her eyelids slid open slowly as she contemplated how it would be like to go back to school. She was almost close to getting over her vicious attack from the men in the alleyway, but it wasn't that fact that made her cringe and blush in shame. Her only question was,

_'How am I going to face Bankotsu at school?'_

Her mother had told her when she had awaken to eat breakfast the next morning about Bankotsu's ordeal and his pardoning at the jail. All she had been thinking about was that it was her fault. Her stomach felt like it was ripping out her heart, and her lungs felt so choked up she felt it hard to drink from a damn straw.

He rescued her, facing at least six fully grown men and she had acted like she'd gone haywire. She'd never done that, and just then was the time to break down! 'Nice going, Ayame!' she thought bitterly.

That had been a week ago. Now she looked at the semi-finished hairtie that she had been crocheting up for him. It was a plain little beauty, knit tight with cloud-white yarn with silver etches of childish but solid patterns. She knew it couldn't come close to apologizing to him, so she quickly wrote a mini-card on a piece of blue pastel paper and enveloped it with Bankotsu's tiny present in it. She gave her wrinkled pajamas one last look and headed out the door with her cousins.

XDXDXDXDXDXDXDXDXDXD

"Damn. I'm way over 39 degrees." Rin muttered and went back to bed, her hair tossing back into her pillow as her eyes slit closed against the sun beating down on her so harshly. It was quite warm for a spring day, but Rin didn't feel like going anywhere today.

She'd been smart to run all the way to her tiny apartment home in south side while it was raining by the bucket. She cursed and wiped away a tear. She felt she had never stopped crying since she had made love with Sesshomaru that night. Crying would be the death of her, she thought bitterly as she pictured her one true love.

He was smiling that night when he was drunk, crying when she was consoling him; frowning when she teased him that night, glaring at his brother randomly for unknown reasons. She could imagine him right now at the hospital, his eyes narrowed into savage slits, sweat running down his damp forehead as he worked on another patient, or even peaceful as he enjoyed his cup of coffee just before his beeper vibrated again.

_**'But you hate him'**_

'I love him.'

_**'He used you'**_

'He loves me'

_**'He never tells you'**_

'He's just a bit aloof.'

_**'But you hate him'**_

Rin cried all over again.

XDXDXDXDXDXDXDXDXDXD

"Hurry up, our next patient's waiting!"

"What's her problem?" Sesshomaru asked his assistant as he hurried into the emergency room.

"She's bleeding from the head." He commented as he threw open the curtains to the patient in pain. She was groaning and whimpering, her delicate hands clutching her bloody wound. "It's not major, but it could lead to one. Looks like she got hit with something blunt."

Sesshomaru gasped inwardly as he came face to face with Kagura.

"Sesshomaru?" her throaty voice whispered in tatters. He hushed her before getting to work.

After wrestling with many yards of gauze and bandages, he could finally say that the worst was over. She was sleeping peacefully now thanks to a tranquillizer. Sesshomaru guessed that the injuries had come from her abusive boyfriend but he decided to keep his head out of it.

'After all, it's not my business." He thought.

_'It is, she's your next door neighbour.'_ His conscience commented.

'Shut up.' He backfired and went into the waiting room to find her guardian. He never came until many hours later.

XDXDXDXDXDXDXDXDXDXD

"You will not resign, girl." Miss Kaede put down her foot. "I understand that Bankotsu is tad too hard to teach, but you must learn to get used to it. Society will not give you, on a platter, the people that you wish to work with. Consider yourself in-training."

"But Miss Kaede…"

"I never go back on my word, girl." The stern principal looked at her as if she was to burn a hole in her face. "You may hate on me for it now, but you will definitely thank me for it in the near future. Now run along. I've got paperwork to file."

Ayame rolled her eyes and sighed heavily. There was no way out of this.

That afternoon was more like walking on pins and needles to her. She halfheartedly hoped that Bankotsu wouldn't show up, but he did. And he treated her with the utmost respect that she had demanded from him before, and she had never thought it would have been this uncomfortable. Her guilt burned through her even more than ever as she studied the obedient boy before her. The lessons were over, and after Bankotsu had presented her with his brain-wrenching math homework from Mister Jaken, Ayame appeared to be a bit flustered.

"Is something the matter?" Bankotsu questioned as he packed up. He was caught by surprise as Ayame started crying softly. Not knowing what to do, he very awkwardly placed his hand on top of her head. Ayame stopped sniffling and questioned through sniffles.

"What're you doing?"

"I guess I'm comforting you." He said. Then he took a finger and wiped away her tears. "Is that better?"

"I'm so sorry…" She gestured to his bandaged knuckles and opened her mouth to say more, but Ayame was interrupted by Bankotsu's slender finger being placed on her lips, and immediately she remembered their first day when she had slapped it away. She let him be this time.

"It's all in the past, hon." Bankotsu shrugged and took his slender length away. "It's not even your fault…no hard feelings. Well, to your cousin I still have some left, but you, nope. Don't worry about it."

Ayame awkwardly reached into her pockets and withdrew the envelope she had been meaning to give to Bankotsu. He cocked his eyebrow and took it from her outstretched hand from across the desk.

"What's this?"

"It's nothing, really." Ayame said. "But I'd like you to have it. You know, as a sign of appreciation."

"Well then in that case, thanks." He put it in his pocket. Ayame blushed and kept rambling, and strangely…he felt a tiny, tiny attraction to her. He knew how proud a girl she was, and that she must be chopping down her pride a whole lot to apologize for something she wasn't even responsible for. In that he found attractiveness.

'Strange,' he thought. 'My brain must be fuckin' fried today or somethin...'

"I've spoken to my family, and they're really sorry it happened…and…well, if there's anything else you need, you can just tell me…you know. I'll try and help the best I can." Ayame said. Bankotsu's face became expressionless, almost emotionless. His face was pulled back into a serious glaze, and he studied her with burning lavender eyes.

"Anything?" his monotone voice emerged from across the desk.

"To the best of my ability." She hiccoughed.

"Kiss me." He said.

XDXDXDXDXDXDXDXDXDXD

**The ruler isn't working, and I wanted to update this chapter very badly. That is all.**

**Anyhow, Chicago was awesome! I loved the Chicago Tribune building, you guys should go there. So many pieces of beautiful architecture embedded in one huge, respectable building! Plus I made a doggy friend who I still can't forget...he was such a cutie!**

**About this chapter...a lot of perspectives here, hope you guys aren't too lost in it all. I'd hate for it to be too confusing. I TRIED to convey their emotions with the utmost respect and realisticness. I donno. Maybe it turned out pretty alright. Feedback anyone:(**

_**XDXDXDXDXDXDXDXDXDXD**_

_**"I stood in front of Notre Dame, looking at the Great Wall, my hands on Giza."**_


	12. That sweet cancer

Ayame was a smart girl, no doubt about that. She was the one to go ask about homework after school, and she was the one who would come up with the cleverest answers to counter questions. But strangely now, the girl with the infinite answers could find nothing to reply to Bankotsu's demand.

"Pardon…?" she managed to pathetically force out.

"You heard me." Bankotsu retorted. "Kiss me. You said you'd do anything."

"To the best of my ability."

"Don't tell me you can't give a little peck on the lips, Ayame." Bankotsu snickered. "So can you, or can you not?"

"You pig!" Ayame seethed. She abruptly stood up and ran out of the classroom, leaving in a huff. Bankotsu laughed heartily as she left, but his laughing silenced as he heard the door shut. He looked up at the ceiling and pondered inwardly, leaning against the chair casually while rocking back and forth. Out of curiosity, Bankotsu tore open the envelope and removed the little note. He snickered out of an I-knew-she'd-write-a-note amusement and turned it over.

_**Dear Bankotsu,**_

_**Thanks a lot. You really weren't so bad after all.**_

_**Ayame**_

_**p.s. It's a hairtie I made, hope you use it**_

Bankotsu cocked an eyebrow and twirled the accessory around his finger before inspecting the note again. It sounded just like what she would write; words of modest thanks yet filled with unbreakable pride. He threw away the rubber band that held his braid together and replaced it with his gift. Feeling rejuvenated but with a hole in his stomach, he shoved the note into his pocket and left the classroom. It was the strangest feeling.

**XDXDXDXDXDXDXDXDXDXD**

Rapping the table with his fingers, Sesshomaru sat under the single light under the kitchen table with a cup of coffee with him. He was stuck in a dilemma as he eyed the slip of paper before him. On it read Kagura's…no, Naraku's phone number.

His conscience kept nagging him to give Kagura a call, maybe ask her how things were going, what weather she liked the most, about her background, and some more things that could help her feel…warmed. Sesshomaru knew Naraku was beating her almost to a daily basis, and it was just at the hospital when he treated her that he realized how serious the situation was.

Making up his mind, he dialed the number. He sipped on his coffee and halfheartedly prayed that Kagura would pick up on her cellphone.

"Hello?" a feathery voice rang out from the other line. Sesshomaru cleared his throat.

"Hey, this is Sesshomaru…your next door neighbour."

"Oh?"

"Do you have a moment?" he said. "I thought maybe…we could talk."

**XDXDXDXDXDXDXDXDXDXD**

_"The number you have called is busy at the moment. If you would like to leave a message, please press…"_

Rin slammed down the phone. It was either Sesshomaru was purposely avoiding her calls or he was talking business for a very long time; an hour and a half, to be exact. Her hair was in a greasy mess, her face pale and with slightly sallowed cheeks. She had had to call in sick for the past four days, and there was barely anything in the fridge. Even if her fridge was bursting with food she wouldn't have been able to eat anything. She hadn't been able to eat anything other than a couple of apples and peaches, and her stomach always felt like it was churning and burning up.

She swallowed a couple of Tylenol tablets down and choked on a dry pill, coughing when she felt the bitter powder biting away at her throat. A swig of water washed down the bitter taste, but it wasn't enough for Rin. She picked up the phone and started to dial again.

**XDXDXDXDXDXDXDXDXDXD**

"…and that's why I have to live with my brother." Sesshomaru sighed. "Not much of a help…now I'm just waiting for my father to come back from Berlin."

"That's too bad…but it should be nice having someone to talk to."

"We don't really talk anymore." He snorted. "We barely talk…it's either yelling or arguing. That's not much of a conversation, now is it?"

Kagura chuckled softly at his words, and gasped as she heard a knocking sound at the door. Sesshomaru heard it as well, and he could hear panicked gasps. So being the sense-filled person he was, he did her a favour.

"I'll call you back sometime."

"I'd sure…love that." Kagura smiled. "I'll see you, Nara's home."

"I know." he cleverly answered.

With a click of the receiver Sesshomaru put on a light smile and stood up to stretch. It was the first time he'd actually called a patient's home and had a conversation with them. It was a strange, yet fulfilling feeling and he was curious for more. Making a note to himself to call her back some other evening, Sesshomaru headed for his room. Looking at the clock, he could see that it was almost one in the morning; and he was getting awfully tired. But the phone must have disagreed with him because it started to ring almost simultaneously as his hand touched the doorknob. Groaning, he stomped over and checked the caller I.D.

_**Rin a.k.a. Momo **_

He let it ring twice before picking up.

"Hello?" Sesshomaru blankly said. He could hear a few coughs in the background and in a few moments Rin was on the phone in a nasal voice.

"Hi, this is Rin."

"I know that."

"I tried calling you before, what's up?"

"Sorry. I had a business call." He excellently lied. "Listen, I've got to get to the emergency room tomorrow and…"

"Sesshomaru, I am so sorry!" she yelled. "I don't know what was in me, I should have just listened to what you had to say before, I shouldn't have pushed you aside, and I'm sorry!" her outburst cost her many coughs and Sesshomaru was still unmoved by it. He knew it was his fault, but his pride was a selfish, cold thing. You either broke his pride or left it alone. To bend Sesshomaru's pride was a foolish thing, and to him that would never happen. He bit down on his tongue to keep himself from saying anything...stupid.

"Listen, Rin…"

"No, no, I'm the one that's going to listen!" she cried. "I'm listening to you, please say something! Anything! I think I'll die if I don't hear you!"

"Forget about it." Sesshomaru said, but he couldn't deny his heart wrenching apart. "I have nothing to talk to you about."

He hung up.

Rin cried some more.

Sesshomaru checked his answering machine and found 95 missed calls from Rin.

"Fuck it!" he punched the wall. That night, Sesshomaru went to sleep with bloody bruised knuckles.

**XDXDXDXDXDXDXDXDXDXD**

Bankotsu knocked on the door but no one answered. Instead he could hear loud noises of vacuuming, so he decided not to bother anyone who was and instead used the key. As he took off his shoes, he saw that Jakotsu was vacuuming the floor, listening to music on his walkman. He was barefooted, clad in shorts and his school shirt that hung loose on his shoulders. When he spotted Bankotsu stepping through, he bustled to turn off everything and greeted him.

"Why're you at home?" Bankotsu questioned, throwing his backpack aside. Jakotsu shrugged, and Bankotsu asked no more questions. He shuffled over to the kitchen to get a drink, and Jakotsu started up the racket again.

"Take your uniform off, I'm going to do the laundry today." Jakotsu said as he shoved the chairs aside. Bankotsu obliged and the next moment, he was wearing only his boxers to Jakotsu's guilty curiosity. It was only a matter of minutes before Bankotsu was changed into comfortable clothes with his backpack in tow.

"You'd better hurry up, the guy who takes shifts before you called. Says he has a show he doesn't wanna miss."

"Alright, I'll see you around." Bankotsu hurried to his shift as usual, leaving Jakotsu alone in the house with Renkotsu and Suikotsu. But it wasn't like he talked to them that much, anyhow. It was just a matter of atmosphere, to his dismay.

After he was done with the vacuuming, Jakotsu dug through each of the two rooms for soiled laundry. He emerged into the laundry room with an armful of shirts, socks, pants, and a couple of wife beaters as well as many head bandanas and sweatbands. He dumped everything into the laundry basket and overturned all the pockets quickly, not wanting to screw up their only washing machine. His nose instinctively twitched at the terrible odour in the room, but that was what you got when you lived with three guys. Three teenagers, to be exact.

After the machine went running, he took a look at his find. As usual, he found coins and paper clips, shredded paper, bus tickets, and, to his disgust, chewing gum. Jakotsu gathered everything to leave out on the dining table when a piece of neatly folded paper caught his eye.

'That's strange.' He pondered. 'There's no one in the house who would just leave notes around in their pockets…' The blue note was folded open to Jakotsu's eyes that skimmed it over quickly. Cheeks of pink tinges appeared on his face as he read it over and over as if trying to deny what was written on it.

_**Dear Bankotsu,**_

_**Thanks a lot. You really weren't so bad after all.**_

_**Ayame**_

_**p.s. It's a hairtie I made, hope you use it**_

"Dumb bitch..." Jakotsu growled. "Stupid, stupid, stupid…"

Jakotsu clutched his heart. He knew his heart wasn't really breaking, but he held his hand over his chest and nearly clawed his shirt off. Shredding the note apart into confetti with hatred, he closed the door to the laundry room and turned on the machine so loud that he was sure no one would be able to hear him cry.

"Damnit…damnit…I need something…now…" Jakotsu hissed out the words through his teeth.

Pulling himself to his feet, he found himself subconsciously stumbling to Bankotsu's room. He threw open the door and found Renkotsu sleeping half naked on the bed. Jakotsu went through Bankotsu's desk, rummaging about until he retrieved a key. With the key he unlocked the very bottom drawer where Bankotsu kept his secret stash of junk and stuff he didn't need. Renkotsu stirred in his sleep and half opened his puffy eyes.

"Wha…what are you doin?" he yawned and stretched.

"Nothing. I'm here to get…" Jakotsu grabbed a pair of gluesticks. "…glue."

"Okay. Just be quiet."

"Sure." Jakotsu said, stuffing something in his pants pocket. He carefully rearranged the desk as it was before leaving the room and dashed out onto the balcony, overlooking the ghetto-like city lights. But they were lights nonetheless. Jakotsu took out the package from his pocket and took out a single, white, slim cigarette.

By the time Bankotsu had returned, Jakotsu had smoked away an entire pack of twenty.

**XDXDXDXDXDXDXDXDXDXD**

**_Sorry I used too many transitions in this one...not very good ones, I know, but there really was no other way to do it without making it sound terribly awkward. So I hope you enjoyed this chapter. It's getting pretty intense, ne? Remember suggestions are always welcome. I may NOT use your idea, but it makes me really happy and gets me thinking. Plus thinking's, it's good for your brain. Read and Review plz! _**

**_willowdrop_**

**_p.s. To the people who asked whether Jakotsu likes Bankotsu...I hope your curiosity's been solved._**


	13. Cut loose and lose yourself

**(3 months later)**

"Hey Jakotsu, you don't seem too well today." the drama teacher stopped the bustling actors onstage clad in their prim dresses and proper suits. "You're not acting very enthusiastically as you used to. What's up?"

"Sorry, sir." Jakotsu fiddled with the handle of his suitcase. "I didn't get enough sleep last night."

"That's alright. I want you to stay behind for a second." he turned to the other actors and gave the the sign that they could leave. Relieved after having had to act out the same court scene ten times over and another ten times again, the cast thanked the director and strolled out, chattering all the way. Jakotsu turned wordlessly towards his teacher.

"Yes sir?"

"Listen...I just want to say I'm extremely proud of you about the role you're playing. Our play is due to perform in only two months, and I'm really looking forward to it."

"But sir, you saw me today on the stage. I was barely adequate." Jakotsu protested.

"Jakotsu, today was just a nick in a diamond for you and you know that. I know you've got in in you, boy." he inhaled and smiled with anticipation. "I just wanted to talk to you about your majoring field."

"My what?"

"Your major. The subject you'll be studying most intensively for the next years." the teacher turned and brushed some lint off of the heavy velvet drapes, flicking them away lazily. "I believe personally that if you keep things bright the way you do, you just may have to major in drama. You'll be great, I just know it. I want you to think about that for a few days."

"Thank you, sir." he said. "I'll see you tommorow, then?"

**XDXDXDXDXDXDXDXDXDXD**

Rin wasn't that good of a cook. She was at a young age, but what with her dropping out of school at the ripe age of fourteen, she barely had an education. But she was street smart, and she credited herself constantly for that. After all, that was how she ever got to where she was. She'd been a waitress, a dancer, an amateur model for a rising lingerie brand and now a bartender. The jobs paid very well, and at the same time as she took on different jobs and swayed them in her hands like an expert, her credibility grew and soon she found many men flocking to the underground bar just to catch a glimpse of her with a cocktail shaker in tow.

She had a little plastic bag in hand. In it was a mini bottle of tequila gin, a drink that she knew Sesshomaru was a great fan of. Next to it was a tupperware container of custard that she had taken the trouble to bake and make herself. It wasn't that good, but she gave herself credit for trying and pressed the button to the top floor of the apartment building. When she found the light didn't come on, she slam-pressed it with her index finger repeatedly as if that would help at all. That moment a janitor came by with his push cart and eyed her trying to make it work out.

"Lady, the elevator's under construction." he said. "I'm terribly sorry, but you'll have to take the stairs for the next day."

"But I need to get up there now...isn't there any other thing?"

"Well, we only have one elevator." he said. "Don't worry, a technician will be by tonight and have it fixed by tommorow morning."

The sound of windex and mops clanging against each other fainted into the hallway. Rin turned to look at the tiled steps and gave a slight grunt of disbelief, but she killed the thought of coming back the next day and mounted the staircase.

'Thirty more floors to go,' she thought.

**XDXDXDXDXDXDXDXDXDXD**

About thirty minutes and a broken heel later, Rin found herself hiding around the corner of the staircase to the thirty-first floor as Sesshomaru stood outside his place talking to another girl. Rin didn't recognize her, she didn't seem too familiar a face to her. But she was an incredible beauty.

The girl just seemed to have finished taking a bath, obviously because she was in her bathrobes and had a huge pink towel wrapped around her hair. Loose strands of ebony hair clung to her damp cheeks and nape, and her scarlet eyes flashed with playfulness with a hint of shyness. Her naked face was a bit too pale, but her lips were cherry red. Her long lashes fanned out as if they were defying gravity, which perfectly complimented her eyes. And Sesshomaru was laughing with her.

Rin felt a sudden pang of jealousy, of hatred. She still said nothing, just clutched onto her things for dear life, afraid that she may slip and break the other heel. She wouldn't be able to live with that humiliation! She felt like crawling into a hole and staying there as Sesshomaru and the other girl spoke about the randomest things.

"So how's your boyfriend doing?" Sesshomaru asked casually, throwing aside the advertisements and flyers into the recycling bin. Rin smiled as she remembered that he never liked minor things like ads getting in the way of his reading.

"Oh, he's doing fine. He's not feeling to well these days, though." Her voice was flowing and graceful like that of a harp, and Rin began to envy this girl even more as she thought of the conversations that she and Sesshomaru may have had together into the night. Then a realization struck her; was this the girl he was talking to for hours on the phone while she left uncountable messages?

"I see." Sesshomaru folded up the evening paper and smiled. "Well, if you need me for anything you can just...call me up. I'll be glad to help, Kagura."

'Kagura.' Rin repeated in her mind. 'Her name's Kagura...'

"That's so sweet, Sessho...thank you!" Kagura said and hugged him around the neck. To her horror, Sesshomaru hugged her back and watched her disappear into the sanctuary of her place. Rin left even before Sesshomaru opened the door to his house, being careful not to be seen nor heard. For the second time, she stepped out into the pouring rain and again thought it smart to walk all the way home.

'Huh. Sessho? Only I used to call him that! Why is she in her bathrobe in front of him? Does she think she's that hot enough for him? She even has a boyfriend for fuck's sake! And how come Sesshomaru can laugh so...naturally around her and not me? He always used to around me...but now he's with that...that slut!'

Rin stopped in her tracks when she realized what she had just thought of. She was thinking nasty thoughts about a girl she didn't even know, had looked at her the way that urban city people looked upon the bums begging for loose change in the street.

"Oh god...I'm terrible..." she whispered. The rain kept falling.

**XDXDXDXDXDXDXDXDXDXD**

"Everyone settle down!" Mr. Jaken smacked his table a few times with his ruler before the class finally settled down. "Rumiko, put your pens away, this isn't the time to be drawing silly comics about demons!"

"Sorry, sir." she said and wiped all of her things away into her bag as the class laughed in unison. Jaken shuffled through the envelopes in his hands and smiled at the class. As they looked nervous with anticipation, he stepped down from the tiny platform and cleared his throat.

"Ahem. I have here your third monthly reports..." the class groaned unanimously and Jaken raised an eyebrow. "...and I should say that some of your hae definitely improved from last month. The reports are in no particular order. Miroku!"

Miroku stepped up with a stagger and recieved his card. He immediately tore open the envelope and pored over his marks, smiling as if he expected exactly those. As Mr. Jaken carried on with the roll call, Bankotsu actually found himself, for once, actually looking forward to what he had gotten. Soon his turn came, and he tore open the envelope almost in unison with the dismissal bell. As the rest of the class poured out into the hallway with groans and consolations, he leaned against a wall waiting for Ayame to come check it out.

**XDXDXDXDXDXDXDXDXDXD**

**Bankotsu. Grade 3, room 7. **

**English; 80**

**Math; 71**

**Science; 68**

**History; 91**

**Literature; 93**

**Geography; 90**

**Gym; 98**

**Music; 52**

**Art; 62**

**Social studies; 86**

**Student average, 80. Placement, 1601/3220.**

**Comments; Student is showing great intellect in literature. Recommendations for majors are in the literature, social studies or modern history fields. Poor in the maths and sciences, arts. Mediocre in those fields, strong recommendations not to pursue career in said fields. Adequate performance in rest. **

**Student is not very voluntary in answering questions or in presentations. Has a tendency to be impatient and hot headed. Has been to office many times for the past years for using fists before words. However he is very athletic, and is able to co-operate with others quite well. Recommendations to join the debate club were suggested.**

**XDXDXDXDXDXDXDXDXDXD**

Ayame tried to keep a straight face as she pored over the report. She'd expected some of the marks to be high and some low, but she just couldn't take her eyes off of his literature mark of 93. She'd recieved an 89 on the same subject taught by the same teacher. And she'd apparently been smart enough to teach him for three full months without a missed day, and she'd still gotten lower! She couldn't accept that!

"How..." she started as Bankotsu smirked triumphantly.

"Betcha you didn't know I work someplace special." he said as Ayame raised a finger. "If you have time tonight, I could show you a couple things."

"Are you asking me out?" Ayame cleverly retorted with a stern look on her face that clearly read 'no' to the average student. But Bankotsu wasn't an average student, he was the not-so-average one; and he wasn't one to take no for an answer.

"So?" he said mischeviously. "What if I am?"

The two made plans that evening for 7:00.

**XDXDXDXDXDXDXDXDXDXD**

It was a very strange feeling for her. Ayame stood in front of the mirror and examined herself from head to toe. Her hair was in pigtails, as it always was. She wore a plain pink polo shirt with demin capris and saw a nerd looking back at her in the mirror. She sighed and debated whether she would put on some mascara, but ditched the idea. She caved in five minutes later and was successful in making herself look like a retarded racoon. But she wanted to look her best for a first date, as unofficial as it was. She sighed and headed out with her knapsack in tow.

"I'm going out!" she simply said, pretty sure that no one heard her over all the ruckus.

She trodded over to the traffic light where they were supposed to be meeting up in. Ayame looked around for signs of Bankotsu but when there was no one to be seen, she had just started to head back when...

"Hey." he bounded up behind her. "So you did show up after all." Ayame gave Bankotsu a weird look as he took out two packages from his bag and handed her one, gesturing at her to take it.

"It's a sandwich." he said. "It's still warm."

They ate wordlessly, more awkwardly sitting in the bus terminal side by side. Ayame looked him up and down with a side glance and saw that apart from the black T-shirt and the cargoes he wore, Bankotsu had taken the thought and had tied his unruly hair down with the hairtie she had taken the liberty to make; on their first unofficial date.

"You're still wearing it." she pointed at the accessory with a mouthful of bologna and grinned.

"I know." he grinned back and swallowed the last bit of bread as the bus pulled over. "Let's go."

**XDXDXDXDXDXDXDXDXDXD**

Ayame was surprised when Bankotsu led her to a bookstore near the strip mall. He casually strolled in, said hi to some of the people there and went in through the back room. It was dark, and all Ayame could make out were piles and piles of books, neatly stacked against the walls leaving a big space in the middle of the room.

"Where are we?" she asked.

"Welcome to the storage room." Bankotsu said, groping the walls for the switch. "We store the books that no one looks for anymore in here. They're amazing stuff though, I'll let you borrow one later."

"Wait." she stopped his talking. "We? What do you mean we?"

"Surprise number one...I work here. Here it is..." he switched the lights on and Ayame was treated to a clearer view of mountains of books from 'A Midsummer Night's Dream' to 'My tales of Nonsense.' she gaped as he continued. "I work here...from one till three every morning, every day except on Sundays. Surprised?"

And Ayame was indeed. She tried to visonize this punk of a boy working at a bookstore on a regular basis, but had great difficulty with it. As she stood by the doorway, Bankotsu browsed through the cabinet and brought out a CD player along with a hot pink CD.

"Close the door." he commanded as he plugged it in and set the song to the numbered tracks. "And take it off."

"What!" Ayame exclaimed in surprise and brought her hands to her chest possessively.

"Oh, I meant your shoes." Bankotsu chuckled. "I'm going to teach you how to dance. You know hiphop? Best kind of dance around. Apart from capoeira, of course...but I've busted my kneecap twice trying to learn the whole thing. I'll bet you've never tried this, eh?"

Ayame took a step back, obviously caught by surprise. "Wait, I...don't dance. It's not in my blood." she stammered as Bankotsu grabbed both her wrists and pulled her to the middle of the room and turned on the music quite loudly. It was a quick song with a heavy bass and a speedy tempo.

"I don't dance, either." he winked and started to hiphop, mezmerising Ayame with his footwork. She looked on as he worked magic to her view but hesitated when he gestured for her to join his dancing.

She protested, "But I'll look silly. I've never done this before, ever..."

"Who cares?" Bankotsu said as he wiped away the layer of sweat that had started to form on his forehead. To her guilty pleasure, Ayame felt herself blush intensely as he studied her with the sexiest, most fatigued out pair of lavender eyes she'd ever seen, graced with dark handsome eyebrows that arched by the ends.

"If there's one thing you're missing, it's leisure." he said. "Stuff like this isn't about calculated steps or co-ordinated and pre-measured hand-eye movements. This isn't about control. Lose yourself in the tempo, the beat, the sound."

Ayame did a series of random movements that fit in perfectly to the bass, which to her seemed quite silly and jumpy. "Like this?" she jokingly giggled.

"You do it good." Bankotsu complimented, and Ayame's stomach did a double-take. The two hiphopped the night away until their legs were sore and their knees buckled under their exhausted weight. Ayame looked at Bankotsu and laughed out of amusement and fatigue. He looked at her back and smiled, blushing as much as she was.

"Ayame?" his eyes met her emerald green ones and she looked at him.

"Yeah?"

Without any further words, Bankotsu leaned in and claimed her lips with his.

Ayame's face turned as red as her hair, as did his; but she didn't know that. She could feel his warmth against hers and with the sudden realization that this was her very first kiss, she took the back of his head in her grip and indulged herself, much to her sinful pleasure. Ayame could sense the beat of his heart against her chest, and wondered whether he could feel the same about hers.

After what seemed like many moments later, they broke apart at the same time. To her surprise, Bankotsu wasn't as calm as she thought he would be. He was blushing hard, probably even more than herself and seemed to be more interested in looking down at his shoes that at her.

"I...I'm sorry." Bankotsu muttered, shook his head and got up to leave. She was even more surprised to see that he actually seemed embarassed by his bold move.

What happened next wasn't entirely the doings of her own, but her body felt as if a sleeping beast had been awaken within her as the song spun into the second chorus. The next thing she knew, instinct had drove her insane and she had roughly slammed Bankotsu against a pile of books and claimed another lip lock. His eyes bulged with shock and surprise as did hers, but only for a moment. The scene seemed to have been taken right out of a musicvideo, but in the strangest of places. Two unlikely people kissing in a book storage with a sweet, mezmerising hiphop tune beating in the background.

When they finally broke the kiss apart as roughly as Ayame initiated it, Bankotsu gasped for breath and made out the words in his throaty voice.

"Ayame." he whispered. "Go out with me."

**XDXDXDXDXDXDXDXDXDXD**

**Just to let you guys know, this chapter takes place a few months after the chapter before, thus explaining the casual conversation between Bankotsu and Ayame as well as Kagura and Sesshomaru speaking like regular next-door neighbours. Okay, enough with the formal info chatter. **

**OMG You guys don't understand how long I've been waiting to write this chapter! I've finally hooked them up! I am so excited for what is going to happen to them now, mehehehe. This is so far the longest chapter I've ever written and I'm pretty glad I've captured all their emotions to the best of my ability. And plus as a little fanservice, I've given Rumiko Takahashi a little cameo in the report card scene as the girl who always draws in class. Haha I thought that was pretty neat, don't you? I really love the reviews you guys are giving me, even if it's one or two per chapter. I love reading feedback! Haha! Check out my profile, I've updated that as well! **

**p.s. As a little...again, fanservice, I'd just like to say that I've already laid out how this story's going to end. So if you guys would like spoilers (this is only for the insane people who can do without reading and in turn find out what the hell's going to happen) email me personally at I'll send you bits and pieces that'll be able to satisfy you for sometime before I update again. Till then, toodles!**

**willowdrop**


	14. Temporary AN

_Before you guys start tattling on me for making an author's note, I'm just saying that I'm only going to be keeping this up until next week. After that I'll presume you guys have already read all this by then._

Welcome to the Author's Note, guys. This is just the divider to what I'd like to call the **SD; Second Division**; so from here you'll see an intense change in atmosphere. I personally don't like using the word 'season' because nothing much is changing...it's just flowing off from where it left off. So before you start shooting me because I didn't update, let me just say that I am almost done writing the next chapter. I was thinking of ending this story with the SD, but from the way the story's going it seems like I'll need to go up to at least a TD. So here's some questions that I know you guys are thinking about.

_"Will Ayame stay with Bankotsu?"_

_"Will Jakotsu ever come out on Bankotsu?"_

_"Will Sesshomaru and Rin kiss and make up? And what about Kagura?"_

_"What about Naraku? Isn't he beating Kagura? What's gonna happen to him?"_

And many more, but those four seem to be the main questions that people are thinking about. And just a reply to one of the questions from my lovely readers...

**DO NOT expect a hundred percent happy ending**. I do have a happy ending in mind, **but people WILL DIE**. This is a warning. If you can't take that, assume that Bankotsu and Ayame live happily ever after and that the story ends there and don't read the rest. There's going to be a lot of dark stuff, so be prepared guys. Just as an interesting piece of info, I've finally hit my 1000-hits mark. I've hoped I'd have had my 100-reviews mark by now, but who knows, maybe in the near future. Till then,

I love you all.

**willowdrop**


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